STILL Defiant
by Hope K
Summary: Sequel to ‘Defiant’. Rating for possible smut and possible violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do no****t own anything and I do not earn anything**

**A/N **

First and most important: again I've got the best beta in the whole world helping me with my story … Honey76. Thank you!!

This is a sequel and from time to time it might help if you'd read 'Defiant' first.

As for my typos and grammar - feel free to correct them/it; I would appreciate it. Really!

And now let's start with

**Still Defiant**

**I.**

They've been betrayed. The worst way. It must have been one of their own since nobody else knew where they intended to go. It's been a big set up, mercs were already waiting for them, they were spread across the whole town and a bunch of them was following them; it was kind of a big hunting party. Just due to Riddick's instincts they were able to avoid getting captured at the meeting point and to get ahead of them but it seemed as if they were running out of luck.

One of the houses in front of them had collapsed and there was no way they could cross the debris, the only way left was an abandoned warehouse. They had barricaded the door but they got it straight that that wouldn't slow the mercs down a lot. Just a minute to regain breath and to look for another option.

There was no other door in the building, the high in the walls situated windows just on the side from where the mercs were coming. The roof was not an option until it got much darker; a part of it was collapsed and would give them a perfect route to the remaining roof but it was flat and they would be visible the whole way across it. The warehouse was stripped of all its contents, no cover for a fight. One of the windows was broken and the wind had blown a mountain of leafs and garbage inside that was now rotting in a corner, spreading a tang of decay and death.

They had found a merc hiding behind the door, waiting for them. He had tried to be smarter than the others and had hid in there, hit or miss. It had done him no good; Riddick had ghosted him the second they'd entered the warehouse. Hope had closed her eyes when she heard the muffled cry of the man. She still wasn't used to the easiness Riddick could kill when needed. She had done it herself but it cost her quite an effort.

Riddick had closed up to Hope, his shiv already clean and back in his belt. "Seems like we've got a little problem here, babe." Hope just smiled trustfully at him. She knew if anybody was able to find a loophole it would be Riddick. She trusted him blindly to get them out of that disaster.

Riddick however wasn't that confident that both of them would make it out of that warehouse. The mercs outnumbered them and with the stun rifles they had much more range than they had with their shivs. Though the dead merc had given him an idea how to at least safe Hope; he just had to convince her to follow his plan but knew she would fight him tooth and nails. And she reacted exactly the way he had suspected.

Hope had her hands fisted at her hips and glared at him. "NO! I won't hide in here while you sacrifice yourself for me. It is my fault we are in this situation and I won't let you risk your neck for me. And he even doesn't look like me a bit."

Riddick took her arms. "That's not necessary. It's dusky outside and I'll be fast; with your jacket and the cap he'll look similar enough and his trousers nearly look like yours; as long as I'm careful they won't see the difference. All they'll see for a split second is me carrying an injured you. The point is that they think we both have made it out of here. I use him as protection against the stun rifles and dump him as soon as I'm out of sight. Wait until the coast is clear and then go to the ship and get it ready. We'll meet there. They don't have a new picture of you and don't know what you look like now. They won't recognize you as long as you are not with me. And it is not your fault that we are in that situation. First of all I have agreed to look for Taylor, second I led the way into that building and third if who ever it was hadn't betrayed us we wouldn't be in that situation at all."

Hope reluctantly shook her head. "No way. I stay with you until you say it fair into my face that I endanger you when I come with you. Tell me that you lied to me and that I can't keep up with you."

Riddick knew he was on thin ice now. It still was her constant fear that she would endanger him by not being able to follow although she was more than good enough by now and he had told her so. He weighed his options carefully and decided to come out with the truth.

"I never lied to you and I won't start now. But this time the chance that they'll get us is higher than usual. I have a really bad feeling this time. You have to trust me in this."

Hope just glared at him. "I know what you are trying to do. I'll come with you, basta."

Riddick had a hard time to not knock sense into that stubborn woman of his. They had no time for discussions. She would do what he told her to do that or another way. But for both of their sakes he had to try it a last time.

"Why does it hurt you so much to let me keep you safe? You have no clue what slam will do to you. And you are of more value for me when you stay free _**if**_ they capture me. Just plug in your computer and do your cyber thing and I'm free in next to nothing."

But Hope was too afraid to stay behind and maybe lose him. She knew that he wasn't half as optimistic as he wanted her to make believe and she would rather die fighting the mercs shoulder to shoulder with him than live with the knowledge that he died because of her. She framed his face with her hands and pulled him down to her to kiss him. "Then we'll have to be really fast and really good." She deepened the kiss, let her tongue slip into his mouth and her hands sneak under his shirt.

Riddick never could resist when she did that. Normally it was him who couldn't keep his hands off her and it turned him on when she took the lead. Even in that situation. He pressed her against him as hard as he could without actually hurting her and kissed her for all he was worth. He laid all his feelings for her in that kiss knowing that it possibly would be the last time he'd kiss her. He felt her melting in his arms and nearly was having remorse about what he had to do now.

Hope swayed a little bit and he had to steady her when he finally released her. "Babe, I …." he still couldn't bring himself to say it. He just could hope that she knew it without him saying it. "Let's go."

Hope knew that something in that picture was off but was too dizzy from that kiss to be able to put her finger on it. She just wondered why he turned around to look at her; after all he had to know she was following closely. And what about that sad expression on his face? She never saw the blow coming that knocked her out cold.

Riddick knew she would be pissed as hell when she regained consciousness but he'd rather live with her wrath than her captured or dead. She had forced him to do it and someday she'll understand that he had to save her even against her own will. He took off her jacket and the cap and buried her underneath the mountain of leafs and garbage.

The jacket was way too small for the merc and so he just wrapped it around him before dragging him to the roof. A last look back assured him that there was no evidence left that one of them might not have left the building.

He paused for a moment to get seen by the mercs that were following them and then started to sprint across the roof. He knew he wouldn't make it far and hurried to find a place where he could dump the merc without audience. He found a perfect place in an airshaft behind a chimney, half full of garbage. The merc sank in and nobody would ever find him.

It didn't take long for him to reach the end of the block. They were already waiting for him; five mercs, stun riffles aimed at him. He got hit in the chest with 3 darts from the stun riffles and lost coordination of his limbs. He started to fall down the roof but a triumphant smile played at the corner of his mouth. He had saved her … they'll never get her.


	2. Chapter 2

**II.**

Hope awoke with a dull headache. Her jaw and her cheek hurt like hell and she wasn't able to see anything. She felt dizzy and was hardly able to breathe, the little air she got smelled awful. Panic welled up in her when she tried to move and couldn't. How the hell had she gotten in that situation?

It took another minute until realization kicked in: Riddick had knocked her out and had burrowed her into that big scrapheap! That bastard! Now she knew what's been wrong with the picture … Riddick caving in … that's been wrong! He never changed his mind and she should have known it. What a big dope she had been.

And then another realization hit her. Riddick had tried to set them on the wrong track. What if they had captured him? What if he already was dead? Her breathing was ragged and her heart beat furiously at that thought. She had to find him. But at first she had to calm down. She was of no use for him if they captured her coz she wasn't aware of her surroundings. She had to get out of the scrap und had to find out for how long she had been unconscious. And maybe Riddick was back at the ship by now. _'Let him be back, please!'_

Cautiously she crawled out of the rubbish heap and scanned the adjacencies. She couldn't hear anything and started to climb up to the roof. It was pitch black outside but when she checked the chrono on her PADD she saw that just half an hour had gone by since Riddick had knocked her out. Just 30 fucking minutes and it got pitch black! They could have sat it out! She hailed the ship only to find it empty. Fear for Riddick let her heart clench. And there was anger. A lot. She would kill him for that. But first of all she had to find him.

She had no clue which direction Riddick had headed for and for a second she just stood there on the roof. She knew she'd never find him if he was hiding somewhere but if they had captured him there would be a three-ring circus. She closed her eyes and led her ears take control over her other senses, opened her mind and concentrated on the sounds of the night, let them come to her, just as he had taught her. She heard the crackle of the building cooling down; nocturnal animals going for pray; the wind between the buildings, blowing garbage through the streets. Chatting people, drunk, hookers looking for customers. A bar fight. Somebody howling with laughter. Commotion. More laughter. Ugly, roaring laughter. All her instincts told her that that was the direction she should go to.

She climbed back down to the warehouse. Riddick was right … she would blend in the crowd but it wouldn't work if someone saw her climbing down the roof. She had no problems finding the place where all the agitation took place. Lots of people were flocking there, nobody wanted to miss a second in the drama called 'Catch the infamous Richard B. Riddick'.

Hope had to bite her lip to suppress a cry when she saw what was happening there. Five mercs were standing around Riddick who was lying flat on his face, totally motionless. One of the mercs had his boot on Riddick's back and for a second Hope's heart stopped beating. _'He can't be dead!'_ She didn't realize the tears streaming down her face and her trembling until a hand was gently placed on her shoulder.

"Girl, what's wrong with you? Can I help you?"

Hope was too desperate to care for her own life at the moment. She didn't even grab her shiv when she turned her head and faced a woman about her age. The woman was wearing too much make up and her clothes barely existed but she had a friendly and sympathetically expression on her face. Hope shook her head and focused her attention once again on the scene in front of her.

The merc had removed his boot from Riddick's back and was chaining him with cuffs and ankle shackles ... they would not cuff him if he was dead; most likely they had hit him with a stun rifle and he was just unconscious! Relieve washed through Hope. There was still a chance left to save him.

Three men were necessary to haul Riddick on the waiting vehicle. She tore her eyes away from him; she'd got work to do. To her surprise the woman was still standing at her side.

"You know him, don't you?"

Hope ignored her and tried to force her way past her but the woman held her back.

"I've watched you and I think I know who you are." She held up her hand. "Please listen, don't worry. I'm with you." she added quickly. "They talked about a woman the convict was with having with him and as it looks you are that person. You have to be careful, you are the only one here looking sad. Come with me, I can help you."

Hope stared for a moment at the woman. She couldn't sense any fear or falseness in her, she seemed to be sincere. "If I'd be that woman why would you help me?"

The woman took a look around and was relieved that nobody was paying attention to them. "A merc killed my husband because he hid a convict. Beat him to death. I lost everything and had to earn my living as whore after my husband died. Nobody can hate that scum more than I do." She outstretched her hand "I'm Sara, but everybody calls me Crystal now. Come on, as soon as they have taken him away the search for you will continue."

It was a gut feeling that let Hope follow the woman. She would need help if she wanted to free Riddick and Sara seemed to be more than willing to provide it.

Sara led Hope through a couple of narrow lanes until they reached a run-down building. The hall was dark, the staircase full of garbage and the smell reminded of the hotel on Orkas. Sara opened a door on the 4th floor and motioned Hope in. The apartment was sparsely furnished but clean and comfortable.

"Do you have a data port where I can plug in my PADD?" Hope couldn't afford to waste time.

Sara pointed to the table. "Over there. I'll get something to drink for you. Are you hungry? And … no offence … but you might want to have a shower."

Hope shook her head. The shower was a good idea but for the time being all she wanted was that terminal. For the 1st time in her life Hope felt sorry not to have a neural data port; it would have made things much faster, but she never could get used to the thought of implanting a computer into her neck and connecting it with her brain. She hacked into the system of the space port and scrambled it; not a single ship was able to take off now. Except for the Defiant.

Time for the shower; she had to get rid of the garbage smell that was still clinging to her. She was back at the table doing researches when Sara returned from the kitchen. Hope looked up and couldn't hold back laughter: she was presented with a cup of tea. "You don't happen to know my family, do you? Tea always was their choice of drug for each and everything."

Sara gave her a restrained smile. "Actually it was my husband who loved to drink tea and somehow I got accustomed to it." Her face was more than sad. "I still miss him so much. And I'll do anything that will help you to get your husband back."

"We are not married." Hope replied but Sara didn't accept that answer.

"But you love him, I can see that and that's everything that counts. Is he really that bad? I can hardly believe it when I look at you. You don't look like somebody hanging around with a crazy killer."

Hope sighed; how to describe Riddick in a sentence? "He is no crazy killer at all. He is the most honorable man I've ever met. And he never would hurt anybody innocent. Did you recognize the mercs?"

"Simmons and his goons. We all know them. Brutal and ruthless. They are the ones that should go to slam." Sara's face was contorted by hate.

Hope read the data on her PADD. "Their ship is in docking bay 27 … the 'Equilibrist'. 5 man crew. I'm sure they'll take him there. Do you know where they go when they hang out? Not all of them will spend the evening in the ship."

Sara nodded. "They all get together at the 'Kettle'. It's an awful dive where they drink, beat each other up and look for … whores." She sucked in air. "I'm still not used to think of me as a whore."

Hope hugged her spontaneously. "You can come with us when we leave and we'll take you wherever you want to go."

"You'd do that for me?"

Hope shrugged her shoulders. "Just returning a favor. You risk a lot for helping me. I'll get you as soon as I've freed Riddick. Stay here so I can find you." She was on her way out when Sara held her back.

"What's your plan?"

"Kill the mercs to leave a message for the others, free Riddick, come for you, get off that shithole of a planet. Plain and simple." Riddick couldn't have phrased it better.

"You'll really kill them?"

"It can't be helped. Each one involved in Riddick's capture has to die; the message must be clear. They have to learn to leave us alone." Hope's jaw was clenched, her eyes black burning pools of fury.

"And don't look at me like that. I've been a geek when I left with Riddick; I knew nothing about the life out there. I didn't do anything to anybody, never hurt anybody but nearly got raped and abducted by three mercs just because I was with him. I was forced to kill them in self-defense and it wasn't easy for me to get over it. I had to learn it the hard way that mercs are just scum and I have no pity on them anymore. And if I have to kill them to defend my life or Riddick's I'll do that without any remorse. And if that makes me a bad person than be it; I can live with that." Hope took a deep breath. Maybe it came out a bit too harsh but it was the truth. She was wondering how Sara would react to her little speech.

"I'm not judging you, I just wanted to know." Sara grabbed her purse and a jacket. "I'm coming with you. I know nearly everybody here and I can help you. But you have to open a few buttons on your shirt and do something with your hair if you want to blend in."


	3. Chapter 3

**III.**

After a brief walk they reached the 'Kettle'. It was cramped, noisy and dark inside; wads of smoke made it difficult to see anything and made breathing a challenge. Sara showed her 'whore face' and pushed people not too gently aside to get to the bar. With her eyes she pointed at two men sitting there. "The two over there, they belong to Simmons' crew. We are lucky, they are still looking for company." she whispered in Hope's ear. "But I can't see the other three."

"Doesn't matter. Even better that way." Hope grinned and took Sara's arm. "We'll start with them and look for the others afterwards. Let's give them what they want." But this time they'd get more than they'd asked for.

"Hey guys, you look kind of lonely. Want some company?" Hope followed Sara's lead and snuggled up to the merc. He looked like a toad and smelled like a pig and it cost her quite an effort to do it but she had to keep the goal in mind. The mercs were already half drunk and after another round of shots they all were best friends.

"Hey, ya know whom we caught today? Fucking Richard B. Riddick. We'll be richer than Croesus in a few days. That son of bitch thought he's tougher than we are. Hah, quickly disabused him of that thought!"

Hope and Sara faked admiration. "Nooo, you shitting me, aren't you? YOU caught that Riddick guy? What a shame that we'd missed it. We should celebrate! What about heading off and having some fun? I know a place where it is a little more … private." Sara seduced them.

The merc near Sara nearly drooled and grabbed her waist. "Fucking good idea girl. Let's have one for the road and then we'll blow this place!" That merc gave the word disgusting an entirely new meaning. He ordered another round and lifted his glass "To the biggest payday ever." he drowned it with one big gulp and then smashed the glass on the bar.

No surprise there that the mercs were more than excited at the thought of a free quickie and followed them blindly to the back door and out in the dark alley. Hope couldn't understand what Sara whispered in the merc's ear but he seemed to like it and roared with laughter. She nearly sold them away though when 'her' merc tried to start groping; she had to call up each ounce on self-control to not push his hands away. Her stomach was turning and the urge to kill him on the spot was overwhelming. _'Suck it up, it's for Riddick.'_

Their destination was an empty house where the whores brought their customers and thankfully the way there was just short. And luck seemed to stay with them coz nobody else was there at the moment. Hope and Sara took the mercs to different rooms and as soon as Hope was out of sight of the other two she draw her shiv. The merc was too drunk and too agitated to realize what was happening and was nothing more than a dead bundle on the floor a second after they'd entered the room.

Sara had managed the merc standing with his back to the door. He already had his trousers open and his hands on Sara and didn't hear Hope approach; she had slit his throat before he was able to react. For Hope's taste it's been way too easy; it didn't help to cool down the rage burning hot in her. Maybe the other mercs would be more of a challenge.

_Two down, three left to go. _

They dragged the corpses behind one of the ubiquitous heaps of garbage to be found in the next days and left the house in search of the other three mercs of the 'Equilibrist'. To Hope's relieve Sara wasn't appealed by her killing the mercs, she was just curious.

"Did Riddick teach you how to fight?"

Hope nodded. "In fact he taught me everything I know about surviving out here. I just can hope I did pay enough attention to his lectures."

"And why are you here? I mean on that planet."

"We were supposed to meet someone. But it's been a set-up."

Sara would have loved to ask more questions; Hope was fascinating her. She looked so fragile and kind but had killed the mercs without even batting an eye. And she wasn't only traveling with one of the most wanted convicts of the universe, she had a bounty on her head herself. Sara knew the system well enough to know that a bounty didn't say anything about the character or the actual guiltiness of a person and was curious what Hope was accused of but Hopes tone had made it clear that she didn't want to answer any more questions and so she remained silent.

Sara talked to some of the hookers they met on their way through town but neither of them had seen the mercs since Riddick's capture. Hope had already suspected it but the information from the women confirmed her assumption: the mercs had to be on the ship guarding Riddick. They would be too chicken-livered to leave him with just one guard, even when chained ... after all they knew his reputation.

She wondered for a second why there were no signs that they were still looking for her but maybe that had something to do with the 'malfunction' at the spaceport; the mercs felt confident that nobody would be able to leave the planet and the search for her would not continue until the next morning. Fine for her; they would be far away until then.

Everybody watching Sara and her would see them as two women walking through town in search of company. Both of them were quite pretty and they had to turn down a lot of offers on their way to the spaceport. There was a lot of hustle and bustle there and two women wandering around didn't attract any attention. They reached the 'Equilibrist' and found two of the remaining mercs in front of it, smoking, laughing and sharing a bottle of booze with two just barely dressed women; it seemed as if they were having a really good time.

Sara looked questioningly at Hope. "What now?"

"Do you know the women? We have to lure the mercs away from the ship and it would be easier if the women would play along."

"Sue and Francie; they are friends of mine. I'm sure they wouldn't mind killing the mercs by themselves. Just because they laugh doesn't mean they like them. Mercs are the worst customers of all but you can't be picky if you have to earn your living with that kind of job. If you let them have the money they'll do anything to help you. I can talk to them if you want."

Hope nodded in agreement and took a look around. "And we need a place nearby a little more secluded to take them. I don't want them found until we left the planet."

Sara grinned at Hope; she had tasted blood and was getting into the game. "Leave it all to me!" She had a 'girl talk' with Sue and Francie and they happily agreed to help them. It didn't need a lot of persuasion to get the mercs to a shack nearby; men … mercs or not … were really just too predictable. Hope made short work of the mercs and Sue and Francie were more than content with getting all the money the men had with them without doing anything but looking in another direction. When Hope tried to thank them they just told her that women had to stick together against men; especially if the men were worthless mercs.

_Four down, one left to go._

"Sara, I have to go inside the ship. I want you to hide and if neither Riddick nor I are able to get out of it please contact that man and tell him that it's over; he knows what to do. His name is Imam and I think he is possibly the most caring person I've ever met. And Riddick trusts him. Tell him everything and ask him for help; he will provide it anyway. Stay hidden and what ever happens … don't try to help me; you have already done enough for us." She handed her a note with Imams com data. "Or even better go back to your apartment. If something happens nobody can say you are involved. I'll meet you there." She smiled encouragingly at Sara and turned around to approach the ship.

"Hope!" Sara waited for Hope to stop and look back. "I'm not coming with you; I'll better stay here, but thank you for the offer. I wouldn't know where to go and it wouldn't change anything at all. Here I know everything and I have friends. Just be careful, will you?"

Hope paused for a moment. "There is that planet … our home planet. We are still rebuilding everything on it, it's chaotic and you have to like your life frugal if you decide to live there but it will become a great place. You are more than welcome to join us; so if you'll ever change your mind contact Imam and he'll make sure that I'll get the message." She hugged her a last time and vanished into the now unguarded ship.

Sara watched Hope entering the 'Equilibrist' and for the fist time since her husband had died she prayed.

Hope entered the ship cautiously, all her senses on alert. She knew the ship type and it was more than a good guess that they had Riddick already in one of the cryo tubes in the rear section of the ship. She could hear a voice coming out of that direction … the merc was talking to somebody. Most likely Riddick. She could sense him; he was injured but not seriously. And she knew he must have sensed her as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**IV.**

The merc called Simmons was furiously pacing in front of Riddick. He had hit him a couple of times to get him to talk about Hope but Riddick had even refused to look at him; he could beat him to death and he wouldn't give her away. Riddick knew that Simmons was losing patience with him; it amused him to watch Simmons lose control. His face was red heading for blue and Riddick could hear Simmons' heart beat too fast, fluttering; his blood pressure way too high, a drop of sweat was running down is temple. To pass time he envisioned an artery rupture in Simmons' heart, a ventricle explode; if he wouldn't ghost him the cardiac infarction would do the job. It made Simmons crazy that Riddick completely ignored him.

Riddick already had made his escape plans. He would get rid of the chains as soon as they were in space; no need to put up with a whole space port and the captured ship would be a welcomed bonus. He wondered if Hope was following his orders; but most likely she didn't. And as always he was right …

Riddick had sensed Hope the moment she had entered the ship. His woman! He couldn't help being proud of her. Even at that distance he could sense the rage she was radiating; and he knew a good part of it would be directed at him when she was done with the merc … now that would be an interesting fight to watch.

He already was looking forward to _their_ fight; and a fight they'd have, he knew her well enough to be certain of that. She was sexy as hell when she was angry with him and didn't even realize it. He envisioned her standing in front of him: all ruffled feathers, glaring at him, hands fisted, 5.2 feet of pure Furyan rage. It always turned him on big time and more often than not it was nearly impossible to listen to her words when all he could think about was fucking her senseless. He licked his lips in anticipation. Yeah, it would be a hell of a fight and he was going to enjoy each second of it. He wondered what it would take to soothe her this time; a very smug smile crept in the corner of his mouth.

For the first time since they had chained him into the tube he looked up and in Simmons' face. First things first. "Poor dumb bastard. You don't know who you are fucking with." His voice was barely a whisper but was all the more frightening.

"Oh, he's got his voice back! Do you want to tell me something, Riddick? You can spare yourself a lot of pain if you tell me now where she is. See it that way: someone _will_ find her and if it's me you can go to slam together." The merc actually thought he was getting somewhere with Riddick.

"Fuck you, merc." Riddick growled. As if he would be afraid of pain; Simmons had to be new in the merc business. "She'll find **you**. She'll get right up your ass and you won't notice until it's too late." Riddick had to grin at Simmons' facial expression.

Simmons' fist nearly cracked Riddick's nose when he hit him again. Blood was dripping out of Riddick's nose, running down his chin and soaking into his shirt but he just laughed out loud. "Patience, merc, patience."

Simmons had drawn his gun and held Riddick at gun point. "We'll see who gets the last laugh, convict!" he spit out … and froze in the middle of his movement.

"Would you mind if I'd join the game, boys?" Hope whispered in Simmons' ear, her shiv pressing against his carotid. "You may want to drop your gun now, merc." she suggested, adding a little more pressure.

Simmons tried to play for time faking confidence he didn't feel. He hadn't heard her approach; Riddick talking to him had been a distraction. "What if I just pull the trigger and then get you?"

"Don't mind if you shoot him, merc. As it is I'm a little bit pissed with him and I'll get my revenge anyways. And I don't think you can get me; it needed 5 of you with stun rifles to get Riddick and now you are alone and soon without your gun as well. But you can try, if you want." Her voice was chattily and made it all the more intimidating. "Now how do we play that game? I'm getting impatient." The shiv dug deeper, cut skin and draw blood.

"You two are a match made in hell, you are as loony as Riddick." he tried to distract her. With a sudden cry the merc dropped the gun and turned around. His fist connected with … nothing. Where Hope had been a second earlier there was nothing, just empty space. She had moved and the shiv in her other hand he hadn't even realized she had on him had cut deep into his upper arm.

Hope hadn't intended to end his life that early; she stepped away and watched Simmons. "Your compliments are wasted on me, merc."

Simmons swore and held his arm; blood was quickly leaking out of the gash. With a roar he stormed over to Hope, his own shiv drawn. He was too angry to see that she was just waiting for him to get closer.

Hope smiled welcomingly and waited relaxed for him to approach her. She knew what he was going to do as if he had told her … how uninspired. She blocked his hit, ducked under his arm and cut him again; this time her shiv was aimed at his thigh. The cut still wasn't deadly but was bleeding profusely and must hurt like hell. She was coldheartedly playing with him, paying him back for the pain she had felt when she saw Riddick lying on the concrete, fearing that he could be dead. For a second she asked herself where the kind Hope had gone, the Hope that wasn't able to hurt anybody.

Simmons leaned against the wall, trying to calm himself down and to regain breath. He hadn't expected the fight to turn out that way; he had seen a small fragile looking woman, an easy catch. But now she had cut him twice and didn't have the least cut herself. He should have known that anybody hooking up with Riddick had to be as crazy as he was.

Hope didn't lose focus on Simmons for a second. "What is it with you mercs? Why can't you just leave us alone? Why do you constantly think you can get us? And how many others of you do we have to kill that it finally will sink in that you should not mess with us? Too bad you will not be able to tell. And too bad you are no good company and I was taught not to play with your kind." she mocked him. "I for my part have enjoyed our little game. But I have to quit now." To her surprise she enjoyed the fight and the mind fucking with the merc to a certain extent; must be the Furyan in her.

Simmons had learned it the hard way and didn't get near her again. He could barely stand on his injured leg and the blood dripping from the cut already leaked into his shoes. His eyes drifted to the door; he was hoping for help.

Hope had followed his gaze. "Oh, I'm sorry. They won't come. Had to ghost them too." She let out a sigh. "Let's get it over with, merc, I'm getting bored. Come on now, don't fritter away my time." she smirked and in a lower voice as if to herself: "How does that saying go? …." She beamed at him "Ah, yes: Resistance … is futile."

At that time Simmons already was beside himself with rage. He didn't think anymore, was driven by pure hate; he just wanted to kill her. One of the crew members had been his brother and he wanted her to die for hurting his little brother. He forgot all caution and rushed up to her, roaring with rage and his shiv aimed at her, he didn't even feel the pain in is leg anymore.

She stood at the other side of the room, her arms at her sides, totally at ease. She knew she had to end it now; Simmons' sanity had snapped learning about his brother's death. With nothing left to lose he had gotten an unpredictable risk she wasn't willing to take. Hope's face was nearly remorseful when she went to meet him; her thrown shiv buried itself in Simmons' throat. His momentum let him make two further steps, let him nearly reach her, but then he stopped and remained stock-still for a second. It was not a beautiful sight when he started to gasp for air, getting none, he swayed and then stumbled and finally fell down on his knees. He stared at her wide eyed and collapsed; he was dead before his face hit the floor.

Hope stood there for a moment, staring at Simmons' corpse lying in front of her feet. She had done what she had to but it made her feel sick. She was disgusted with herself for her behavior, for her combativeness; she could and should have ended it the minute she stood behind Simmons.

Riddick hadn't said a word during the whole fight but hadn't missed a detail. Damn, he was so proud of her. Her movements and her handling of the shivs had been just perfect, her mind fucking with the merc … priceless; he couldn't have done it better. She had lost another hair tie and with her hair open she had looked like a goddess of war and without the chains he would have shown her right there how much he adored her.

Hope concentrated on the lock when she opened the chain on his right hand; she knew she would cave in if she looked at him now. She would not be able to stick to her rage when she saw his beaten face, she would be too relieved that he was alive to be angry anymore. She inserted the key into the lock of the other chain and turned around. "From here on you can handle it by yourself, I suppose." She left the ship without looking back.


	5. Chapter 5

**V.**

As soon as they were in outer space Hope left the cockpit; she didn't want to talk with him right now. If ever.

"Hope, how long do you intend to be mad at me? You know it was the right thing to do."

'_I'm going to pretend that I haven't heard him. Yeah. Maybe he drops the issue for the time being. Just ignore him. After all I've learned from the best.'_ Hope sighed when she heard him behind her. Denial would not work with him. At least not this time.

"I don't understand why you are that mad at me; it was necessary to safe your life. I'm not mad at you coz you saved mine. Is it because of the hit?" He really tried to understand that woman but sometimes it was just beyond his abilities.

Hope refused to look at him not wanting him to see the tears that were burning behind her eyelids and shook her head "That's a ship of a completely different color! You really don't get it, do you? It is NOT because of the hit, I can cope with that. Although I'll kill you if you'll ever hit me again outwith our work out … at least I'll try." she added after a second.

She had to take a few calming breaths before being able continue. "It is because you do not respect me! You didn't give shit about what I was thinking, about my opinion and my decision. Did you even listen to me? Who am I for you that you disrespect me in such a way? So tell me!"

She paused for a second, sucked in air to be able to continue "Oh, no, you don't have to tell me. I understand perfectly. You already told me what you think of me at the space station. I'm just a dumb fuck for you. No need for respect!" It didn't occur to her that she was unfair, she was too furious by now, spitting the words over her shoulder into his direction. "Just leave me alone, Riddick. I'm fed up with you and your attitude at the moment."

Riddick was dumbstruck. How could she possibly think he was disrespecting her? He respected her more than anybody else; with any other person he wouldn't even have that discussion in the first place. And he **did** listen to her, he just didn't agree with her. And how did she come up with the idea that she was just a fuck for him? She had to know by now what he was feeling for her. And that he was more acquainted with the life out there than she was. And that he would do everything to keep her out of harm's way should be evident by now. When he had envisioned their fight back on the mercs' ship he hadn't expected what was happening now. This fight was completely different to the fights they normally had, this time she actually seemed to be … hurt; but he was having none of it.

"What the hell are you talking about? I won't explain it again and I won't apologize. I'd do it again. Get over it." He stood behind her now, nearly touching her.

"Self-righteous bastard! Get out of my face, Riddick! I've had it with you!" Hope's voice was low and controlled but rage simmered hot below the surface.

"Hope, I'm losing patience." His voice reverberated deep in his chest.

She turned around, couldn't stop herself from yelling "I don't care! Maybe you'll find it where I've lost my blind trust in you." She fisted her hands and pushed him away from her; at least she tried to … you can't move a rock of his size easily.

Riddick didn't budge an inch. Blind trust? He had never asked her to trust him blindly. He was fed up with that conversation; they weren't getting anywhere. Maybe he actually should knock sense into her. He slammed her to the wall and pressed her against it with his body. "Listen, woman, we'll settle that here and now. I'm not up for traveling in company with a woman pissed without any reason."

Hope was trapped between Riddick and the wall, all she could move was her right hand. She had her shiv on Riddick's neck in an instant. "Fuck you, Riddick!"

"Don't give me ideas." Riddick grinned mischievously. "Feeling a little bit feisty today, aren't we?" He didn't fear the shiv in his neck in the least; he knew in spite of her anger she wouldn't hurt him and he could have removed it easily. And apart from that he was curious what she was going to do with it.

Riddick's voice suddenly got husky and seductive "What if instead I fuck you? I have a hard on since I've watched you fighting Simmons. You were absolutely gorgeous." His voice had become a hoarse whisper. "So beautiful. Would have liked to fuck you there on the spot."

Both were panting heavily, staring at each other. But the rage was mixed with something else now ... to feel the other that close along with all the adrenaline and an excess of hormones provoked quite different feelings in both of them.

Hope knew she should not be aroused but she couldn't help it; Riddick was up to it and he knew exactly what it required to get her all worked up.

That woman was driving him mad! What was it about her that he couldn't be angry with her? That rage always turned into arousal in next to nothing? He grounded his groin against hers and had her by surprise. The shiv scratched over his skin, a drop of blood was slowly running down his neck. Riddick's face was so near hers they were sharing the same breath. "You'll have to kiss that better later." He fisted his hand in her hair; his tongue forced her mouth open, squelching her halfheartedly protests.

Hope didn't want to cave in but she already had started to question her reaction to his actions on that planet. Maybe he was right that it's been the best strategy. Maybe it really had been the only way to safe her from the mercs. Although she didn't agree with his methods it had worked, that much she had to give him.

Riddick's tongue in her mouth stopped her effectively from thinking, her blood was boiling as hot as his. The shiv dropped to the floor and with a moan she leaned into him, deepening the kiss.

Her shirt was ripped in a second and was closely followed by his. He unzipped his trousers and let them slide down his hips. He didn't waste any time with pulling her trousers off, he just shoved them down her hips. Nudging her legs apart he stepped between them and lifted her up. He entered her in one stroke, buried himself to the hilt in her. For a heartbeat he just stood there, searching her eyes if he'd hurt her, but her expression and her moaned 'Riddick' was everything he needed for encouragement.

He started to thrust into her, hard and fast. Hope had her legs wrapped around his waist and met each of his thrusts with the same passion. Her nails bit in his shoulders, his hands left bruises on her butt. He could taste blood on his tongue; their kiss had opened his split lip again but he couldn't care less. There was no tenderness between them at the moment, just the primal need to reassure each other that they were still alive, free and together.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To her surprise Riddick was still beside her when she awoke. Their legs were entangled and he had wrapped his arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace. That was rare and she took the opportunity to snuggle up even closer. Normally Riddick wasn't the cuddling type of man, most of the days he already was up when she got awake. She was more than happy that they had been able to sort things out and it had taken nearly the whole night to make up for it. As far as the two of them were able to 'sort things out'. Both of them could be really hot-tempered but thankfully none of them was resentful.

She smiled and listened to his steady heartbeat. Her fingertip draw slow circles across his chest, followed the contours of his abs. It's been an incredible night and she felt pleasantly sore in all the right places. She sighed with contentment, although she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to walk that day.

Riddick's soft chuckle let her lift her head and look into his face. "I didn't say that out loud, did I?"

That got her one of is rare full smiles. "Yeah and I won't apologize."

Hope playfully swatted his chest. "Wishful thinking; get real man. How can you think you are taking credit for that?" she smiled at him.

He had her flipped around and underneath him in a split second. He grinned at her and his growled "Don't try me, woman." let her giggle. His tongue traced the outline of her ear. "So … resistance … is futile …" he whispered hoarsely.

How she loved playful Riddick; she would have liked to see more of this side of him but was fully aware that she was the only person in the whole universe who ever had seen it.

To feel his body on hers whetted her appetite for him again; she just couldn't get enough of this man. She licked her bottom lip. "Prove it." she purred.


	6. Chapter 6

**VI.**

They finally had made it out of the bed and were sitting in the kitchen, wolfing down a meal; since the food replicator finally worked they actually got tasty meals to eat. It's been a long and somewhat … unappetizing … way to get it completed.

Hope smiled at the memory. Riddick had been a good sport when it came to try a bite of what the replicator had produced; most of the time he had told her that even slam food tastes better.

Riddick was curious about her smile. "What's so funny?"

"I thought about the things you had to eat when I tried to complete the food replicator."

That let him smile himself. Ugly sometimes sounded like a compliment for the 'food' he had to taste. Every now and then she came out of the kitchen where she was tinkering with the replicator, asking him to have a bite of something looking very strange, asking for his opinion. She always had tried it first and never got tired to reassure him that it was eatable and would do no harm but he still felt his stomach turn just at the memory of it. Only once he had tried to deny her request:

'_No, I'm not going to eat THAT.'_

'_Pleeease. Just a bite.' _She had looked at him with those biiig puppy eyes and those pouting lips he always had a hard time to resist.

'_Not going to happen. Hope, I'm a brave man but I have no death wish.'_

'_Oh, come on. It looks just a biiiit strange, but the taste is good this time, I swear. I've already tried it.'_

'_Hope, face it, the food replicator doesn't work.'_

'_It will. And you know how much I hate cooking.'_

'_Yeah, tell me. I have to eat it.' _That had gotten him a hit from her.

'_Then do it yourself you jerk. You knew I'm no cook when you took me with you!' _

'_Yeah, but you didn't know how to fight either and you've learned it. Don't be mad, you know that your cooking in the best case is just barely non lethal.'_

'_Riddick, you know what, kiss my…'_

He had spun her around when she started to stomp out of the cockpit and had put her on his lap._ 'Mmh. Tempting offer. Maybe I'll have a bite of __**you**__. And while I'm at it I can also taste you here … and there …' _He had walked the talk and the replicator had been forgotten for the moment.

The memory of them christening the pilot's chair let him come up with some ideas ...

It still was like a miracle for him how at ease he felt with her. It didn't seem strange anymore to make a joke once in a while. His thoughts wandered back to that blonde woman … Carolyn … asking him on that godforsaken planet if he didn't want to rejoin the human race. _"I trusted that some part of you wanted to rejoin the human race!" _He had told her that he wouldn't know how _… "Truthfully? I wouldn't now how." …_ but Hope finally had shown him.

"What now?" Her question startled him somewhat.

Riddick shrugged his shoulders. "Find that bastard that had set us up. And quit that stupid search. I don't think Aereon had a clue where to find Taylor. We don't even have proof that he exists; she just wanted us to start the search. There are already enough of them on Furya to search for the others for themselves." After a glance at her face he continued. "We'll still search for Taylor. But at first we go back and kill the fuck causing all that trouble."

"I can't imagine that one of us would do that."

Riddick shook his head. She still just saw the good in all the people she met even if there was none. "Why? Coz of some DNA? We don't know them and vice versa. Most of them seem to be loyal to the idea of a rebuilt Furya but not everybody agrees with me as their 'leader' although I'm sure each of them loves **you**. As soon as we've found Taylor we'll leave all that crap behind and continue with our life." He washed down the last bite of his meal with a glass of water. "Hope..."

Oh oh … she knew that tone. "You won't nag me about not killing Simmons on the spot, will you? I've been just too furious. I've seen him with his boot on your back and he had to pay for that. And I had everything under control all along." Offense is the best defense, isn't it?

Riddick shook his head and grinned. "No, I enjoyed the sight too much to argue. But you should be aware that I'll kick your ass from here to the next universe if you get hurt coz you couldn't resist and played with mercs. Now tell me what happened." he demanded.

"The short version? Got hit, got dumped, found a friend, did my cyber thing, played ho, killed five mercs. That's about it."

Riddick didn't like her suddenly snotty tone. And he didn't like what he had heard. His face went blank. "You did what?"

Hope knew what he was referring to but something seemed to posses her and let her answer "Yeah, the hit and dump part was hard to understand for me as well." She stood up to get herself another cup of tea, ignoring his rising anger and turning her back to him.

"Hope!" There it was; belly deep, rumbling, intimidating. "What about that ho part?"

Hope was glad he couldn't see her face. She still tampered with the tea cup, her voice was casual. "Had to lure them out of the bar." She shrieked and dropped the cup when she suddenly got twirled around and stood face to face with a very angry Riddick.

"The ho part!" he thundered. His hands dug painfully into her upper arms, the vein on his temple was pulsating, he was the allegory for intimidation and rage and anybody less than Hope might have pissed his/her pants by now.

If she hadn't decided to not get frightened by him a long time ago her knees would have buckled under his glare. She knew she shouldn't have brought it up again but the damage was done and she refused to be intimidated. She held his gaze when she snapped at him "You are hurting me."

Riddick immediately released her. "All right, I had that coming. Are we even now or will you continue with that immature game?"

He left the kitchen without giving her the chance for an answer. She hadn't intended to enrage him, just wanted to rub it a last time in his face that she still wasn't completely over his ignoring her decisions; in fact she was more than surprised by his extreme reaction.

She was curious enough to follow him to the cockpit and to ask him. He sat there, staring out in space, his jaw clenched, his hands fisted; he was visibly struggling to calm down. At first Hope thought that he wouldn't answer her and he still stared outside when he finally choked out between grind teeth:

"Coz you are mine and nobody touches what is mine!"

His answer surprised her even more. First she was baffled but then she got angry.

"I just had to open a few buttons and to drink a shot with him. A drunken merc follows you everywhere when he sees enough cleavage. He didn't touch me once and he was dead before he knew what was hitting him. And how can you think you own me? Have you lost the plot? Maybe, and just MAYBE I am with you … but I'll never ever be your property!"

And it's been her then who turned around and walked away without as much as a glimpse back.

It's been a silent journey back to Furya. Riddick was brooding and Hope not in the mood to lighten him up. They had looked through each flexi that might contain information about the identity of the traitor but didn't find the slightest hint. Hope still couldn't get used to the thought that it had to be one of them and Riddick didn't get tired to lecture her and call her dewy eyed.

'_Cryo sleep'_ Hope decided _'is absolutely underrated.'_

The events on that planet had gotten to them but both of them refused to talk about it. At first it had seemed that they could get past it but two stubborn people not able to talk about their feelings together on a tiny ship stuck with a frustrating search for a backstabber was a situation calling for trouble. Hope couldn't put up with Riddick's possessiveness and he couldn't understand her rage about it.

They nearly had reached Furya and Hope sat alone in the kitchen, wading through a mountain of flexis. She felt lonely and was fed up with the silence and Riddick's coldness. He had once told her that he was not an easy person to live with and he was absolutely right with that; it would be up to her to make the first move.

She abruptly stood up and dropped the flexi on the table; things couldn't go on like this. She found Riddick in the cockpit. Again.

"Riddick?"

He didn't look up from his research but she couldn't sense any rage in him.

"Hm?"

"Riddick, I hate it when you are mad at me. Can we please talk about it?"

That got her his attention. He watched her for a whole minute before answering her, still stony-faced.

"I'm not mad at you. If I remember correctly you are mad at me."

She knew he wouldn't make it easy for her but she was willing to do everything necessary to clear the air.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. For a while I thought I'd lost you and seeing that merc with his boot on your back didn't help either. I was still freaked out and …" She paused for a moment, chewing her bottom lip. "I wouldn't have liked it but I'd have done anything to get you out of that ship and your reaction hurts me. You made me feel like … if I'd have done something awfully wrong … like if I'd have betrayed you." She sniffled, struggling for words. "And … you know … I mean … you know that I'm yours, don't you?" Hope had her eyes fixed at the armrest of his chair, not yet ready to look into his face; she was too much struggling for composure.

Her voice was thin and Riddick could tell that she was short of crying. He hated it when she did that; he couldn't stand seeing her that miserable. His face softened when he took her hand to pull her on his lap. He enveloped her in a tight embrace, tucking her head under his chin. He nearly choked on the words but he said them nonetheless: "I'm sorry, Hope."


	7. Chapter 7

**VII.**

It was early in the morning when they landed on Furya; the sun was barely above the horizon, the shadows still deep and the air still chilly. Hope stood in the open hatch, deeply inhaling the fresh air.

Standing there she was drawn back to memories of their first landing on Furya; after leaving Aereon and her home planet and before starting their search they had spent nearly three weeks on Furya...

She had been excited like a kid when Furya for the first time had appeared on the view screen; a beautiful planet, blue and green, slightly more water surface than land area. It rotated around its axis in 27 hours and with its two moons it orbited a bright sun.

They had taken a low orbit and had rounded the planet several times to get a full scan of it. Other than Aereon's home planet there was nothing boring about Furya. Snow capped mountains alternated with big forests, lakes with deserts, glaciers with oceans, a few inactive volcanoes rounded out the picture. There were several climes on Furya in accordance with the varying landscapes.

Despite all that diversity everything seemed to be in harmony and both of them had felt it the second they had set foot on the planet: Furya was home.

Hope couldn't suppress a smile at the pictures arising in her head ….. they had explored the planet, had landed at several places until they had found the remainders of that village. Both of them had liked the place and they had decided to make it their base for their explorations. They had wandered through the forests and had swum in several lakes and in one of the oceans; they had hunted for their meals and had slept under the stars.

It had been an unbelievable time; Riddick had been relaxed and she had discovered another side on the man of mystery, a side that assured her that staying with Riddick was the best decision she had made in her whole lifetime. If she wouldn't already have loved him she would have fallen for him all over again.

And they had christened each place they had explored … regarding that Riddick indeed had more than broadened her horizons.

When they had climbed up a mountain it had become apparent that she was a natural in free climbing and reaching the top of the nearly vertical cliffside after a phantasmagoric climb she had been excited and aroused to such a degree that she practically had assaulted him. At first he had been surprised about her unusual behavior but then he had just enjoyed her bluntness. She was still a bit surprised about her boldness herself; the things that man tempted her to do … He had let her push him down to the ground, had nothing but complained when she stripped him to the skin before ripping off her own clothes, he had let her have full control and she had more than taken advantage of that occasion. He had tasted so damn good … everywhere. Her mouth watered at that thought.

Her heartbeat quickened remembering their encounter after she had hunted her first prey; he had taught her how to go for it, how to use the wind direction to her advantage, how to read and follow a track and how to kill the prey with her shiv. At first she'd had scruples, she hadn't thought she would be able to kill that deer, but then the excitement of the hunt had gotten to her; she had hunted for their meal and she had been proud about her achievement. And he was too. The look he gave her had made her feel like pray herself, his favorite pray. He had approached her slowly and for each step he had taken towards her she had taken one back, prolonging that erotic hunt until a tree had stopped her retreat. His eyes had never left hers and she had licked her lips knowing what he was up to, had waited for him to come nearer; she had still felt the rush from the hunt and they had collided with undamped passion.

...Hope unconsciously bit her bottom lip, her heartbeat had accelerated considerably and she could feel the heat build up in her; she really had to stop those thoughts. She nearly shrieked when she suddenly felt Riddick's lips on her ear.

"You are sooo playing with fire, babe. If you don't stop having that thoughts I'll drag you back in and everybody will know what we are doing coz I'll make you scream out my name loud enough to get heard on the whole planet."

"Christ, Riddick, stop reading my thoughts! That's scary!" beat red didn't describe her complexion even close.

"I'd say stop thinking that loud would help. And stop smelling that damn sexy." His tongue darted out and licked across her neck to her pulse point. He could feel her pulse beating furiously under his lips. "Damn you taste so good…" he was breathing hard himself by now. He stopped at the crook of her neck, burying his teeth into her flesh, leaving marks on her skin. He could feel her shiver, taste her arousal on her skin. Riddick grinned; he knew he had her there.

Hope had her eyes closed; his caresses sent shivers through her body. She leaned into him and feeling his length pressing hard into her back let her moan in anticipation; maybe getting dragged back in wasn't a bad idea at all.

Nearing voices let Hope open her eyes again and Riddick curse. Fuck his luck with timing; it would be a hell of a long day if he wasn't able to sneak away with her for a while.

They were approached by half a dozen Furyans and a bunch of 'hellhounds'. It was a funny thing with those hounds; most of the prisons used them to contain the convicts and a hellhound would kill each one he could catch. But with Furyans it seemed to be different, there were no aggressions between them. When they landed on Furya for the first time it hadn't taken long until some of them came out of the woods. Hope had been afraid of them at first but had quickly learned that they didn't pose a threat and now she couldn't understand why she ever had feared them.

And if you took a closer look you could see that Riddick's and their eyes seemed to be similar. She had asked him about his eyes but he still refused to tell her the truth about his 'shine job' and she never had believed the 'dig up a doctor and pay him 20 menthol cools' story he had given the others. It was quite a sight seeing Riddick hunkering down in front of one of the hounds and patting it.

The puppy she couldn't resist to spoil and call Pooh jumped up and down in front of her until she lifted him up and scritched his back. "Hey Pooh, did you miss me? You are living up to your name, baby, you are getting fat." she cooed. With a laugh she avoided his big raspy tongue in her face; no misunderstanding there … Pooh adored her. He was too heavy to get carried anymore and so she patted him a last time and set him back on the ground where he started to yelp to get her to carry him again.

Riddick had watched the approaching people for any signs of surprise that they not only had made it back but even more totally unharmed.

Laney hugged Hope with a bright smile on her face. "I'm so glad you are back. Did they come with you? Where are they? Don't keep us in suspense!" Hope was tense and didn't answer immediately and her demeanor caused Laney to take a step back to have a closer look at her, her face full of worry "What happened? I can see that there is something wrong."

Riddick and Hope exchanged a glance. "Round up everybody and let's get together in 30. We have to talk." Riddick answered instead and nodded at Hope. "Come on, babe, let's have a look."

Laney was curious but followed Riddick's orders immediately; she knew he wouldn't give any further information until they were all together.

They went to the room with the only computer equipment they had on Furya. There wasn't much in it yet but Hope had built a com station with a more than up to date interface and the computer not only had access to the net, Hope had made sure that nothing could get traced back to them. They even had some short range sensors that showed them the ships approaching the planet.

Hope was absolutely able to do the researches on her own but Riddick didn't intend to leave her alone not knowing who was after them.

She connected her PADD to the console and started the download; it would be easier to check everything with her own equipment. She looked for a download scheme, checked each call that went in or out. 30 minutes didn't give her much time but she liked the challenge and had no problems with working under time pressure.

20 minutes later one name crystallized: Ronson. He had spent more time at the com station and at the computer than anybody else on Furya. He had tried to make certain that his calls couldn't get traced back and had tried to erase the trail he had left on the computer. He had been careful but not careful enough to fool Hope. All of the others had made a few calls to friends they had left behind and Hope could verify each of those. Only one hasn't used the com station or the computer at all.

Riddick had watched her closely and he could see that she had discovered something. "Who is it?"

Hope turned around to face him. "I'm not sure yet, I have to dig deeper. All I can say by now is that Ronson did some strange things but nothing tells me that he had contacted any mercs. It could be pure chance."

Riddick shook his head. "When something looks like a hound and smells like a hound in 99 it **is** a hound. Why can't you believe what you see with your own eyes? What must happen that you learn not to trust everybody just because of a nice smile? Or do you think he isn't capable of betrayal coz he has a crush on you? I've seen how he looks at you."

"Riddick!" sometimes she was tempted to choke him. "Not each person being polite has a crush on me. And I'm absolutely sure that especially Ronson …" Hope wasn't able to finish her sentence; Laney had opened the door.

"Hope, Riddick, we are ready when you are."

Hope took her PADD and followed her without another look at Riddick. If she wouldn't have known it better she would have thought that he was … jealous? Nah, not Riddick.

They were all together in the common room and looked expectantly at them. Hope didn't know all of them … some must have arrived after she and Riddick had left Furya. A few were absent: some of them would be on the fields occupied with the fruits and plants they were farming to get autonomous from the support of friends and the Elementals, some of them … those with a ship of their own … in outer space to help with the search for other Furyans.

Except for the newcomers she knew each of them by name but some of them she knew somewhat better …

First there was Laney. They had found her on a farm where she was stuck with watching children. She had been bored out of her mind and was more than happy to go with them. With her 70something years she was the oldest and quickly took an exceptional position among them: history showed that the Furyan alpha couple always was guided by a council of elders and Laney got the job without asking for it.

Then there was David; a married teacher with three kids. His wife was not Furyan but she was comfortable with them and even the hounds liked her and the kids. She loved to cook and bake and was happy to spoil them with absolutely delicious cakes. As for the kids … Furyan genes seemed to be dominant and the kids were as Furyan as their father was.

Philip … a doctor who had to be convinced to go with them. He didn't like the thought of starting from scratch but finally he had decided that they really would need a doctor if they wanted to rebuild Furya. In the meantime he had become quite merged in his new role and had built up a fine adequate sick-bay.

Hope nodded and smiled at Kerry. Kerry was thrilled with the idea of a rebuilt Furya and being an architect would give her good opportunity to leave her mark all over the planet. She was really good at her job and Hope wondered what miracles she had performed with the ruins during their absence.

And finally Tyr and Carlos. Both of them pilots and great warriors, trained with all kinds of weapons and short-range fighting. Nearly as good as Riddick. Nearly. Riddick used to do some sparring with them when they were on the planet but didn't like it when she joined them. Her training was his job … or so he had told her. Hope had let it slide; it wasn't worth an argument. Although she had to admit that that attitude **did** annoy her somewhat.

Hope stood at Riddick's side and waited for him to begin to speak. His presence dominated the room, made the people look at him in breathless anticipation.


	8. Chapter 8

**VIII.**

Riddick stood there with his hands behind his back, motionless, watching the people, feeling out for their emotions. His face gave nothing away and Hope couldn't help but admire him. He always told her that he didn't want to be their leader and that he wasn't cut out for it but in truth he was a born leader; his whole demeanor proved it.

He had their whole attention, they were hanging on his lips, silently waiting for him to speak. Maybe he was right that they loved her but him … they adored him. They trusted him to reunite them, trusted him with their life; she couldn't understand why he couldn't see it himself. If someone didn't approve of him being their leader he/she wasn't among the people watching them now; the faces in front of her showed nothing but trust and respect.

He turned to Laney when he finally decided to speak. "Report!" His voice resounded across the room.

Laney arose, showing that way her respect for them. "Hope, Riddick, first let me again welcome you back. As it is we have a lot of good news for you. You can see that we have some newcomers; they arrived during the last two weeks and all of them have told me that they are glad to be here." She graced them with a bright smile and motioned them to stand up. The introductions and a short summary of their backgrounds didn't take long; Hope and Riddick would talk to each of them later anyway.

"Then we have a few more buildings ready and I'm looking forward to show you around. Rita gave birth to her baby; both are doing fine and they will be able to leave the ward that afternoon. Riddick, she'll talk to you when you visit her but she asked me to sound out if you'd possibly be willing to be the godfather of her son, the first Furyan child born on this planet for a long time.

Daniel, Stephen and George are working on the fields and won't be back until tomorrow evening. Michael, Garret, Janet and Lynn are on their way back from the Breon sector; both teams have found the person they were looking for and even better they are willing to join us. Charlie and Tom left yesterday … they follow a lead to a Furyan family in the Lantern Sector. Ronson left twelve days ago to attend to some personal affairs, but he didn't tell what he had in mind or when he will be back.

We have received a couple of deliveries; mostly aliment, clothes and medical supply; I'll give you the itemization afterwards. Carlos came back with a ship full of weapons and he and Tyr have started to train everybody on them. They told me that they are satisfied with the good progress everybody is making with weapons and combat training. That's mostly all about it." She sat down again and waited for Riddick's response.

Riddick had raised a brow and glanced at Hope when Laney told them about Ronson's absence as if he wanted to say 'See?' Hope knew better than to react to that; she still didn't believe that Ronson was the one they were looking for. She had talked to him and knew that he was a very straightforward person and nothing but a coward. If he had issues to clear with somebody he would do it personally. And yes, she liked him.

She didn't pay any attention when Riddick finally started to speak; she knew what he was going to tell them and instead mused about Ronson's behavior. It was very unlike him to leave the planet without telling anybody where he intended to go; not that it was required but all of them knew about the importance to keep things quiet and to ask for back up. He must have had a good reason to leave that way.

Hope focused her attention back at Riddick. The pensive faces showed her that he already had told them about the betrayal and that they would quit the search until he found the culprit and have him prosecuted for the betrayal; in fact she had missed his whole speech.

Riddick dismissed them a minute later without giving them a chance to ask any questions and Hope followed him outside.

"Riddick, I'm not sure that it's been Ronson. All we've got is presumptive evidence. I need more time, please. 27 hours more or less won't hurt. If I can't come up with something else we'll go for him." She looked at him with pleading eyes and Riddick didn't have the heart to say 'no'.

"27 hours and not a second longer. But I won't take you with me this time. You are safer when you stay here."

"You are kidding me, right? You can't leave me here just like this. What about my decisions? You know I can help you and if he is guilty I won't hold you back. I promise. But please don't leave without me." She leaned into him, playing with the hem of his shirt. She wasn't above pleading and knew him well enough to be certain that it would help her more than getting pissed with him.

Riddick had a hard time to stick to his plan. He entwined his fingers with her open hair and pulled her closer. "That's not negotiable. Babe, please, let me keep you safe. Back on that planet … I know you would have done it willingly to rescue me … but I don't want you ever to get in a situation that will require exactly that … it would raze what you are and I'm not willing to risk that. I couldn't stand seeing that, it will be easier for me knowing you are safe."

Hope shook her head. She couldn't believe what she just had heard. "Bullshit! I'm Furyan as well. I'm trained and you know we are a complementary team. What are the prospects that I'd ever have to do something like that? And I'd rather die with you fighting than live here without you. Don't you dare and leave me, Riddick!" All her good intentions to stay calm had vanished, she was steaming by now; he was overprotective … again! Ignoring her decisions … again! And that pissed her off no end. "And you didn't have a problem with us dying when we had that problem with the discharging warp plasma. Why now?" Hope tried to step back from him but he wouldn't have it.

He hated those discussions with her. As much as he loved her stubbornness there were times when she overdid it, refused to see the whole picture.

But she was right with her last sentence … he didn't have a problem with them dying then. It would have been a quick and almost painless death; the plasma fire would have burnt them in a split second.

"Not death itself scares me … what matters is the way you die. Captured and killed by mercs is not an option." She could hear from his tone of voice that he was starting to get impatient; he wanted to end that conversation.

Laney saved Riddick any further discussion when she approached them. She seemed to make a habit out of appearing suddenly and interrupting their discourses.

"Hey, you two! Would you mind accompanying me to the ward? Rita can't wait to see you, Riddick. You'll be the godfather, please? And then I want to show you the new buildings. We have a little surprise for you."

Hope decided to hold off on their discussion; there would be time enough in the morning and Riddick was relieved about the interruption. He had made up his mind and nothing would make him change it; neither her pleading, nor her anger.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, Hope didn't even have time to continue with her search for evidence pro or contra Ronson.

They visited Rita and her baby and Riddick even put a good face upon being the godfather of little Rick. The ceremony would take place in the afternoon and then they would have a celebration; the first baby born on Furya was absolutely worth a celebration.

Laney and Kerry showed them the rebuilt buildings and saved the big surprise for last. They had led them to a building bigger than the others, lovingly restored. Laney and Kerry stopped at the entrance. "You are spending that much time on the ship that we thought you should have a house of your own when you stay on the planet. It's not completely finished yet but it's ready for occupancy. Let us show you around."

The wooden entrance door opened to a big light-flooded room. It was sparsely furnished with a wooden table and matching chairs and a snug seating with lots of pillows and a comforter that was all over embroidered with Furyan symbols in a corner; carpets decorated the walls and made the room homey. "Rita has made the comforter especially for you; she is really good with that kind of things." Laney explained. The few pieces of furniture indeed were beautiful and fit perfectly in the sunny room.

The next room was an empty room designated to be the kitchen one day, then they were led into a fully equipped bathroom followed by another two empty rooms Laney meaningfully called 'children's rooms'. An innuendo which both of them choose to ignore.

The last room they were led into was the master bedroom. It was dominated by a big handmade bed, carpets covered the floor and the walls, a door in one of the walls opened to a walk in closet. Riddick stood behind Hope and she couldn't see his face but that wasn't necessary for her to know exactly what he was thinking about seeing that bed.

Laney however didn't give them any time to act out those thoughts; after the house inspection she dragged them to the mess where already everything was prepared for the celebrations.

It was nearly midnight when the two of them were able to escape the still ongoing party.


	9. Chapter 9

**A****/N**

If you do not want to envision Riddick and Hope very naked you should skip that chapter and just read the last paragraphs following the xxxxx

And a big thank you to Honey76; I would not dare write something like that without her help

**IX.**

The day had been a challenge for Riddick … he wasn't used to waiting to get what he wanted from Hope; on the ship she was always there for him and his craving for her. They didn't have a single second in private the whole day and although it's been only one day Riddick already hated the whole socializing thing.

To describe his mood as 'impatient' would have been the understatement of the century. Riddick was holding Hope's hand, yanking her along the way; she nearly had to run to keep up with his long strides. "Riddick, stop it. What are we running from?"

He didn't slow down, held her hand even a bit tighter. "Just move that beautiful ass of yours and I'll show you what we are running _for_." She still went way too slow for his taste and in a swift motion he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder.

Hope couldn't help but laugh; he never failed to surprise her. "Hey, cave man, there is nothing burning here, so what's that for?"

"**I**'m burning, babe, I'm burning." Riddick's voice rumbled deep in his chest; she could feel it in her tummy and her panties were ruined long before they had reached their new home.

Riddick had to smile at her caveman comment. She had called him that on more than one occasion. He was thankful … no, thrilled that she was able put up with him even when he got carried away sometimes and things got a little rough. With each woman he had been together he'd had to hold himself back; but not with her. After happening the first time he had rested his forehead on hers, still struggling to regain breath, had tried to apologize in his own way; he wanted anything but hurt her. _"Babe, are you OK? Hurt much?"_ Instead she'd had a very content smile on her face when she'd answered him, nearly purring the words. _"Do I look hurt?"_ she had whispered _"I really like it when you let cave man out to play once in a while."_ And had turned beet red. He nearly chuckled. After all their lovemaking she still managed to turn red when she talked about it and she never lost a certain shyness he found downright adorable.

They had barely closed the door behind them when Hope already was missing half of her clothes. He couldn't even wait to get to the bedroom, he had to have her there and then.

He shoved her against the door, captured her hands and pinned them high above her head with one of his. He had removed his goggles and his silvery eyes burned into hers. "Do you know what it does to a man when he has to run around like that for a whole day?" His voice was even deeper than usual, unbelievably sexy, causing Hope to suck in a breath and lick her lips in anticipation. He rocked his hips against hers, let her feel his nearly painfully hard length. His thigh nudged her legs apart, his hot breath on her bare skin sent chills through her whole body. When his lips caught hers in a bruising kiss she already had turned into jelly in his hands, his thigh between her legs pressed against her clit, teased her and she rubbed her wet center completely shameless against him, craving for more.

He could feel her heat through the fabric of their trousers and if possible it aroused him even more. With his free hand he teased her already rock hard nipples, made her arch against him. He nibbled at her bottom lip but when she tried to deepen the kiss he pulled back.

With a frustrated moan she opened her eyes. "Riddick!"

He loved to tease her, loved to make her beg for more. He wouldn't admit it even to himself but it stroked his ego; big time. "Tell me what you want." he breathed in her ear, licking across the outer rim. "You have to tell me."

His free hand was fisted in her hair, forcing her to look into his face.

She needed a second for her answer. It still wasn't easy for her to talk about it and that bastard always coerced her into it. In a futile attempt she tried to wriggle out of his grip, free her hands … and caved in. "I want to touch you."

He loved the power he held over her; he knew so exactly how she would react, what it took to make her completely lose control, to break her restraint.

He shook his head, held her hands in an even tighter grip. "Nope, my turn. Do you want me to open your trousers?" his voice a husky, seductive whisper. He sucked at her pulse point knowing it would drive her crazy with need. Her "Yes, please" was hardly to catch between her moans when his hand slid down her belly to the waistband of her trousers, making the muscles of her tummy twitch under his feather light touch.

Slowly, very slowly he opened the buttons of her cargos, let each opened button follow a murmured annunciation what he intended do with her. And her reaction more than confirmed how much she was looking forward to it. He knew she was close and when he finally let his finger slide into her it didn't take long for her to come.

He didn't give her much time to come down though. He let his tongue run along her collarbone, kissed his way up to the tender spot right below her ear before whispering hoarsely "I want you to turn around, babe."

He didn't release her hands even now, just loosened his grip enough to let her turn. The cold wood felt good against the overheated skin of her face. She drew in a sharp breath when she suddenly felt his naked throbbing length pressed against her back, felt his hand circling her clit; she hadn't even noticed when he took off his own trousers. _'Finally!' _Feeling his tongue between her shoulder blades was her undoing.

"Riddick, please, I want you inside of me. Now."

"Tell me to whom you belong." He rubbed himself against her, let her feel his arousal.

At that point Hope would have said anything to finally feel him inside her "You" she breathed out. "You."

"And don't you ever forget it." He lifted her up until she barely stood on her toes and drove all the way into her in one swift thrust … she was so wet and ready for him. '_Mine, all mine.'_ Without waiting for her body to adjust to his size he started a slow, seductive pace. He had finally released her hands and Hope had her palms pressed against the door. His hands on her hips controlled her movements, prevented her from meeting his strokes. "I told you that's my turn. Don't' move or I'll stop … and you don't want me to stop, babe, do you?"

Hope was short of crying; she was that aroused by now it nearly hurt and she would beg if he wanted her to. "No, please, don't stop." Her whole body was burning with need.

"Then behave."

And he loved her occasional complete surrendering to him knowing that she wouldn't surrender to anybody else than him.

He had pulled himself almost completely out of her when he had stopped his movements and thrust back in now with nearly brutal force. He increased his pace, savored her cries of pleasure until he felt her climax building up.

He let his tongue travel along her neck, sucked at the tender spot where her neck met her shoulder. The second he felt her walls clenching around him, hearing her scream out his name he buried his teeth into her shoulder, deeper than he did in the morning, marking her for everybody visible as his and finally finding his own release. She was his and he would make sure that neither she nor anybody else would ever forget.

Hope slowly came down from her orgasm. She would never have believed it but the sudden pain when Riddick bit into her shoulder and simultaneously feeling him come inside her had intensified an already overwhelming pleasure. Her knees were too weak to carry her and only Riddick's arms wrapped tight around her middle held her upright. She had her head on his shoulder, her eyes were closed and she was wallowing in the afterglow of what had been a mind shattering climax.

The way he carried her to their bedroom was completely in contrast to their previous fast and hard lovemaking. He held her like she was made of thin china, removed the rest of her clothes, slow and deliberate, kissed each centimeter of her body like he'd do it the first time and when he finally caught her lips in a tender and loving kiss she couldn't hold back anymore the words she had avoided for so long; they slipped out of her mouth before being aware of it, barely a whisper but he heard them nonetheless: "I love you, Riddick."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He had kissed and tasted each centimeter of her body, had memorized her, devoured her, had made love to her the whole night; when she finally fell asleep both of them were totally exhausted.

Leaving her was the most difficult thing he ever had to do, especially knowing that her reaction to his leaving her again would make the wrath of Khan look like a child's anger. But he had to keep her safe at all costs.

He stood there in the shadow of the wall and watched her sleeping form. She was lying on her stomach, her hair fanned out behind her, her hand outstretched to the other side of the bed as if reaching out for him. He saw the angry red bite mark on her right shoulder. He wondered if she'd get the scar removed. And a scar she'd have; he had bitten her deep enough to make sure of that.

She had told him that she loved him. For the first time. He knew that she did but to hear it from her was something completely different. Maybe he should have told her too.

He wondered if she'd hate him as much as he hated himself for hurting her with his departure. How much her anger would overshadow her love for him. What it would take to get her pardon this time.

But she was his and he would be back and if necessary he would claim her as his again even if it would mean he'd have to kill half of the Furyan population.

He took a last look at her before closing the door behind him, wishing he hadn't when he saw the single tear that was slowly running down her face.


	10. Chapter 10

**X.**

She should have known that the last night had been a good bye. He had been so different, so … un-Riddick.

She simply had disavowed the truth; she had so much hoped that he wouldn't leave her again. But it's been her fault; she should have made it clear that if he'd ever leave her again like that he could rot in hell and she'd never take him back.

And now he was gone; sneaked out of their bedroom in the wee hours of the morning without as much as a good bye. She still had hoped he'd change his mind when she saw him watching her from the door; she awoke when she didn't feel his presence anymore beside her and for the first time she had been able to fake sleep without him knowing it.

And she hoped he hadn't seen the tear running down her cheek, one of many others to follow; she didn't want him to see how much his leaving hurt her. It actually hurt so much her whole body seemed to ache. She felt ignored, rejected and left alone; and she was more than pissed. She silently cried for hours until she felt numb and dead inside. She didn't get up when the sun rose and ignored the whole day passing by.

She was still staring at the same spot on the door where she had seen him last when she heard somebody knocking. She ignored it, carried on with her staring, hoping who ever it was would go away; she wasn't ready yet to face the world again. She was relieved when the knocking stopped but just for a second, then the door silently got opened and Laney slid into the room. Hope sighed inwardly … she would have to get locks for the front door.

Laney needed just a second to cover the distance to the bed; for a moment she had been worried about Hope's unblinking eyes ... she had looked like dead the way she stared at the door. She sat down on the bed near her, within reach but not yet touching her.

"Hope, my dear, he'll be back. You know keeping you safe was the only reason why he left alone and I'm certain it was as hard for him as it is for you. He loves you so much …" She tried to hug Hope but gave up on that intention when she felt Hope stiffen under her touch and just remained sitting beside her and talking to her, knowing that Hope wouldn't listen to her words but hoping that her calm voice would sooth her somewhat.

Night had begun to fall when Hope finally spoke to her. "If he'd really love me he would have respected my decisions; he just sees me as a property he doesn't want to get damaged. I don't care if he comes back or not; I was finished with him the second he went out of that room. He'd better look for another woman silly enough to fall for him and his damn attitude; I'm out of the game." Fair or not … she still was too angry to think about anything else than him getting his way again. Her gorge was dry from crying and lack of liquid and her raspy voice had a sharp edge nobody ever had heard from her. "You can leave now, I'm fine. Life will go on as well without him."

She stood up without bothering to wrap herself in a sheet to go to the bathroom; she still smelled of sex and Riddick and wanted to get rid of that. And she had to take care of her shoulder where he had pricked her; no need for an infection. She had to get over him and the sooner the better. It would do her no good to wallow in self pity; she was not the kind of woman to run after a man not regarding her. She had conceded herself a day of crying and mourning and that was it. That doesn't mean that it wouldn't hurt but nobody would be able to see it; it was mostly anger that had made her cry anyways. Anger about Riddick's behavior … she knew he'd be back, pretending that he'd done nothing wrong, expecting from her to cave in like she did the last time. And anger about herself coz she wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't do exactly that.

Laney had watched her on her way to the bathroom, seeing the mark on her shoulder but not commenting on it. She was old enough to know the Furyan way better than anybody else did out of first hand experience and understood Riddick's intention why he did that to her.

When she had learned that Riddick had left the planet without Hope to look for the traitor she already had suspected that Hope wasn't consent with his plan and that it would cause a lot of trouble. Furyan males were overprotective and over possessive of their mates and Riddick was no exception thereto. And Furyan females were freedom-loving and independent and also Hope normally was a very kind and gentle person, with her attitude she was in no way inferior to her ancestors and both were hot tempered and stubborn.

Partnerships between Furyans never were easy but amazingly most of the couples stayed together, there were just few records of separations; most of them mated just once. Maybe the deep feelings for each other helped a lot to get over the arguments.

She sighed deeply; she only could hope that Hope would change her mind when he came back. They needed both of them and an alpha pair being at odds with each other would do them no good at all.

The next day Hope stood up early in the morning to take care of her workout and then had breakfast with the others. Laney must have talked to them coz nobody asked any questions or mentioned Riddick and they tried to act as if nothing had happened. She spent most of the day assembling the new long range sensors and the beacons and only stopped with her work when Kerry came and forced her to have dinner.

There was no change in her day's schedule in the next days except that she had started to wander through the woods in the evenings, following the trails Riddick and she had explored on their first visit, trying to find a way to live without her ripped out heart and to cope with the loneliness she felt without him. And she had started to spar in the morning with Tyr or Carlos. Both of them were apprehensive at first but she had made it clear that she was equal to Riddick and if she wanted to spar with them they simply had to obey and follow her orders.

Pooh had stayed by her side since she first came out of the house and was even allowed to follow inside and sleep on the bedroom floor; she didn't feel that lonely when she heard his snoring during the night.

Hope didn't talk much and nobody saw the slightest smile on her face but she fulfilled her duties as alpha and worked herself to the bones for Furya. And she still tried to find out about the identity of the traitor. She knew she was missing something important, that she already had all the information she needed to identify him/her. The information danced at the edge of her consciousness and teased her, slipping away each time she tried to grip it and that didn't do anything good to lighten her mood either.

It was on the tenth day after Riddick's departure when George stormed into her workroom, panting, arms flapping, totally upset. "Unknown ship approaching! Can't hail them!" gasp "Need help to identify!" pant "Sorry to disturb!" wheeze "Nobody else here to ask!"

George was nearly funny in his dismay and Hope couldn't suppress a small smile at his sight. But he was right … they had to identify that ship immediately. Hope quickly followed him to the com room, reading back the data the sensors had gathered, running a few scans George hadn't thought of. As a result the image of a small ship appeared on the screen.

Hope sighed deeply ... she had seen a ship like that before. And never seeing another one of those ships again would have been early enough. _"Not now, please!"_


	11. Chapter 11

**XI.**

Before meeting Hope he never had traveled willingly in company of anybody; he had been a loner and hadn't wanted anybody around him. He was surprised how hard it was for him now; a few months with her and he hated it to be alone on the ship without her.

He missed her presence more than he'd ever have imagined. Walking through the ship he always expected to find her in the engine room, 'playing' with her gadgets. Or in the kitchen, burying her nose in a cup of tea she used to call 'Captain Picard's favorite'. He grinned … she definitely did too much reading.

He missed her smile, their discussions, he missed their working together and yes … he missed her in his bed, her naked skin against his, her scent, her hands on him, missed to see the hunger for him in her eyes, the sound of her voice crying out his name when she came.

That small woman had sneaked into his heart and soul and had changed him more than he ever thought could be possible.

And another thing he never would have thought of happened: he was bored out of his mind. He even would have been grateful for a problem in the engine room to pass time. Like he had taught her how to fight and to survive she had taught him the basics about warp cores and he was more than able to do some minor repairs himself.

He had to find that bastard soon if he didn't want to go nuts. That fuck wouldn't only pay for his betrayal; he would have to pay for the hurt he saw in Hope's eyes, for the necessity to leave her behind to keep her safe and he would have to pay for his own inconvenience. He would suffer and beg for his death till he was done with him.

Riddick had downloaded everything he would need from Hope's PADD; it had been tedious and afforded hours of reading until the letters started to dance in front of his eyes but he finally discovered the place where Ronson had to be.

Ronson came from a small, not overly developed planet with strict rules concerning family and behavior, tolerance was a word they weren't even able to write there; very patriarchic and puritan. Women didn't have much of a say, there was rumor that they were still keeping slaves and the only punishment for violations of their severe law was either death sentence or heavy labor. If you wanted to leave the planet a permission of the council was indispensable; no need to tell that just the citizens most true to doctrines did get such permission and it's been quite a challenge for Michael and Garret to get Ronson off that planet. However, Ronson had some distant relatives on Planthos; they had been able to escape a lot of yeas ago when the by-laws for departure hadn't been that restrictive.

He drew everything out of the engines and with max warp he reached the planet in three weeks. Three of the possibly longest weeks in his entire life and with each day his hate towards Ronson grew more.

He reached Planthos late afternoon. The fake ID guaranteed Riddick some room and having the cold season he would blend in the crowd with his hood.

Ronson's relatives were just noted in the margin in an old document from his home planet and being the not Furyan branch of the family tree they hadn't bothered to look for further data. Knowing the name of Ronson's ship and since Hope also had given him the 'computer hacking 101' he was able to hack into the computer of the spaceport and find out about Ronson's whereabouts. From there on it was merely a walk in the park to find Ronson and his relatives.

He took cover on the roof of a neighbor house and patiently observed his target for hours until he knew exactly who was staying in the house and where Ronson's room was situated but unfortunately he didn't have a clear view of that room. He could spot the shadow of a man … but not Ronson … too small to be Ronson. He entered through a window under the roof … taking in its arrangements didn't even take a second; it was sparsely furnished, a bit clinical; it looked like a typical guestroom, two doors, one on his left side and one opposite the window … and surprised the half naked man that was obviously sharing the room with Ronson.

Riddick grabbed the man at his throat and slammed him against the wall, his feet dangling a couple of inches above the floor. Riddick's grip was tight enough to squeeze all the breath out of the man.

"Where is Ronson?" Riddick hissed, his voice low and savage.

The man managed to choke out "I … don't … know."

More guts than Riddick would have thought. He growled and pushed a bit harder. "Wrong answer. Try again." He stiffened when he heard a silent noise to his left, the door over there slowly opening, revealing a bathroom and a still wet Ronson with a very panicked look on his face.

"Riddick please, don't hurt him. It's not his fault. I told him it would be all right. He didn't know. I'm sorry!" he pleaded, hands outstretched and radiating waves of angst and horror.

After a final squeeze that made the man … Sam … rattle Riddick let go of him, let him fall to the floor where he remained lying, a gasping bundle of pure misery and turned to Ronson.

"You are SORRY? You damn bastard got Hope hurt … there is no excuse for that!" He had his shiv at Ronson's throat but he didn't kill him though, somehow through the red haze of his fury he managed to not kill him on the spot. He wanted nothing more than to bury his shiv deep in Ronson, wanted to spill his blood, wanted to make him cry out in unbelievable pain but not yet … he needed to know about possible accomplices.

"Tell me who else is involved and maybe I'll kill you quickly. Lie to me and you'll endure more pain than you ever thought could be possible."

Riddick ignored the whimper behind him. "Shoot!" he bellowed … and was somewhat surprised about the confusion he saw in Ronson's eyes.

"Involved in what? Who? Why did she get hurt? She told me she wouldn't mind. She was so confident you wouldn't mind either."

"What are you fucking talking about? You are not trying to make me believe Hope wouldn't mind getting hunted by mercs, are you? Are you fucking stoned?"

Ronson cried out in pain when Riddick's shiv cut into his flesh. "Riddick, please, what mercs? We talked about me being gay. She promised not to tell anybody until I talked to you about bringing Sam to Furya, but there had been no occasion before you left and then I got news that Sam had problems with the authorities. It's a major crime on the planet we lived and he was already under suspicion. I had to get him off that planet before they could arrest him; there was no time to wait for you to come back. It would have been a death warrant for him if they'd have arrested him. And I was told you would be gone for quite a while. Time was running out for Sam. Please, we won't come back and bother you anymore. I beg you, at least leave Sam … it's me you want to kill."

Riddick couldn't believe it … Hope knew?! Why didn't she tell him?

_She had tried after you accused him of having a crush on her__, remember?_

He took off some of the pressure on the knife he had on Ronson's gorge. "Who told you we wouldn't be back for a while?"

"I always forget his name. Thin, curly hair, about 17 years old. He has no special skills so he was assigned to do the farming. I just met him once outside the meetings after you've left. I don't know why he had that information but he seemed to be very confident. He is the one that lives in the ship he came with. He always talks about that uncle of his, Simmons. I remember that name coz it sounds a bit like Sam's last name." he added somewhat sheepish.

Simmons.

Silence fell over the room. No more questions to ask; the pieces fell into place and he could see the whole picture, everything made sense now.

Putting the shiv back in his belt Riddick tried to remember the boy Ronson was talking about. There had been a lot of meetings and a lot of people he wasn't interested in. But it wouldn't be Riddick if he would forget a single face, also he couldn't put a name on it. He remembered the kid ... eager to please Hope and just poorly able to hide his dislike for him. And he would have to find out who did the researches of the boy's background; he couldn't tolerate such carelessness and let the responsible person get away with it.

"What else do you know about the boy's uncle … Simmons?"

"Not much. The boy has a very annoying voice and after a while you stop listening. It always was Uncle Simmons here and Uncle Simmons there; like the man could walk on water. He had raised him for about a year after his parents had died and before he came to another relative; and he told me that he isn't related by blood with him … Thinking of it I wonder where he always had that news from his uncle … he never used the com room like we all did. I would have seen it when I erased everything concerning Sam."

'_Only one hasn't used the com station or the computer at all.'_

"You didn't erase it good enough by half to fool Hope and she found out that you were hiding something. You should have been honest from the beginning."

"Riddick, again, I'm sorry; I'm so used to hiding my relationship with Sam I didn't even think about it; it has become second nature to me. What about Hope, she is fine, isn't she? Please, tell me what we can do to help."

Riddick gave him a curt nod. "She is." _'Most likely very pissed but otherwise fine.'_ He turned and left a very distraught Ronson behind; he had to hail Hope ASAP, she had to know about that little bastard.

He was almost out of the window when he turned back again. "I think Hope already told you; you are welcome, both of you; I don't mind who you fuck as long as you keep your hands off Hope. Pack up; we are leaving within the next hour. You have to testify against that boy, but lie to me again and you are dead without any further warning, be certain of that."

...

_**PADD** … Personal Access Display Device … hand-held computer interface _


	12. Chapter 12

**X****II.**

Hope stood on the landing field, waiting for the hatch of the just landed ship to open. It slowly slid down revealing an old, white haired woman she only knew too well. She sighed again and went to meet the inescapable.

"Aereon, how nice to see you. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

Aereon took a quick look around and then stepped down the ramp to Hope and hugged her. "Hope, my dear, I'm so glad to find you well. I wondered how you were doing here and wanted to ask if you'd need any further help. And there are some artifacts in the cargo hold for you. Where is Riddick? How is he?"

Hope swallowed hard. Since he had left nobody had even mentioned him in her presence and it still was hard to act like it wouldn't bother her.

"He left Furya ten days ago and if your next question is whether I know where he is or when he will return then the answer is 'no'. He hasn't hailed us yet and I'll rather cut out my tongue than hail him myself. If you want to know something about his whereabouts feel free to use the com room. Shall somebody take you there or do you want to see what we have attained here by now?" Hope turned around without waiting for an answer; she needed an intrusive Elemental like the Terellian plague.(_xx_)

"Hope!" Aereon's voice was awe-inspiring, causing Hope to stop dead in her tracks. "Are you telling me you two split up? You and Riddick are supposed to stay together; didn't I make myself clear about the importance of that?"

Hope's hands balled up into fists. _'How dare that Elemental come to her planet and start making a fuss coz that jerk left?'_

She turned around and glared at Aereon. "It's none of your fucking business, Elemental!" Hope was too angry to watch her words. All the anger she could not take out on Riddick let her vent her wrath on Aereon.

Pooh's spikes were ruffled, his fangs bared and he was growling dangerously; he had sensed Hope's distress and only her hand on his back prevented Aereon from an attack of the hellhound.

Hope could tell that Pooh was ready to rip up that damn Elemental. He wasn't old enough yet to go for pray himself but Aereon would be a welcomed first one … just for training … maybe she should encourage him a bit.

Before she could concede to that urge she stomped through the tiny group that had followed her to the landing field, Pooh in her bow wave.

"Hope, everything all right?"

Carlos … nearly as overprotective as Riddick. He loomed over Aereon, waiting for her command to do something. First Pooh and now Carlos … Hope had to suppress a hysterical giggle; wouldn't it be nice to tell him that he should send Aereon to hell where she belonged to? It was Aereon's fault that Riddick had left, her fault that they nearly had captured them on that planet, her fault that she was looking for a brother that possibly didn't even exist, her fault that she and Riddick weren't together anymore ... after all without that damn Elemental they would still live on the ship cruising through space and be happy together. "Everything's fine, Carlos, thank you. Laney, would you please show Aereon around? I'll meet you at dinner."

She left the landing field without waiting for Laney's affirmation and went back to her workroom. The work would help her clear her head and to calm down; she knew Aereon well enough to be sure that that there was another, off the record reason why she came to Furya.

She worked undisturbed for the rest of the day and when she went to the mess she felt calm enough to face Aereon without having to suppress the urge to unleash Pooh.

The artifacts Aereon had brought with her were already stored in the mess and Hope had to admit that they were more than interesting.

She surveyed each of the objects, stalling for time but when the meal got served she couldn't avoid Aereon any longer. She took place on her chair at the head of the table, Aereon as the guest of honor next to her and face to face with Laney. She could see Aereon's pilot, a young Elemental sitting on the other end, having a vivid conversation with Carlos … pilots amongst themselves. At least somebody had fun tonight.

"So, Aereon, did you enjoy your day? What do you think about the rebuilt houses? Kerry did a great job on them, didn't she?" After all she wasn't raised in a barn and knew how to make a polite conversation. "Do you want to sleep on your ship or shall we prepare a room for you. And what about your pilot?"

Aereon smiled at her. "If you don't mind both of us will sleep on the ship; you shouldn't trouble yourself on our account. Hope, can I talk to you in private? We have things to discuss."

Hope suppressed the urge to sigh; sometimes she'd love to be proved wrong. "We'll talk after dinner."

Dinner went by way too fast for Hope's taste and much earlier than she would have liked it she sat opposite Aereon at the table in her house, sipping a cup of tea and waiting for the rock to drop.

"Now, Aereon, what's that important that you came here by yourself and didn't just call?"

Aereon watched her silently for a minute and then closed her eyes, gathering herself. She liked Hope and would have been glad if her calculations would have shown a different picture. She had seen that there was something wrong and she had seen what would happen if she wasn't able to do something about it.

"Hope, my dear, I know you don't want to talk about Riddick and the others wouldn't answer any questions either but I really have to know … why did he leave? And when do you think he will be back?"

That Elemental was really pushing it; Hope's anger rose. "As I told you that's none of your business, Aereon. But if you really want to know … he is hunting a man he thinks is a traitor. And he won't be back until he got his revenge."

Aereon nodded thoughtfully. "So everything is all right between you and Riddick and the separation is just temporary?"

Hope shrugged her shoulders. "Only Laney knows by now and I don't want you to spread the news, they'll learn it early enough but when he left he ended our relationship; he knew the consequences his departure would have. I'm through with him."

"Hope, you can't be serious! You love each other too much to …"

Hope interrupted her, boiling over with anger "Too much for what? For not forgiving him that he ignored my decisions **again**? Too much for not being hurt coz of his behavior? Too much to not refuse being his possession? No, Aereon. You are right, I **do** love him, but I won't let him or anybody else treat me the way he does. As for him … I don't know anything about his feelings. All he keeps telling me is that I'm his property. Riddick is an ass and I won't take him back and nothing can ever change my mind."

How stubborn … Aereon was at her wits' end; maybe her news would shock Hope enough to get herself together again. She didn't like what she had to tell her but she had no choice, Hope had to know. "Hope, listen, there is that foretelling I have to tell you about. The universe needs you two together; someday you'll have to face and fight a menace worse than you can imagine, but you'll only succeed as long as you are together; it has to be the both of you to restore balance. If you split one of you will die. And ... Hope …" Aereon took a deep breath before she continued "Hope my dear … I'm afraid you are the one who will die."

Hope felt like she got hit; she could feel that Aereon was sincere. Does Aereon's foretelling mean she had to choose between surrender and death? Between staying herself and life? What menace? _Balance … that's all Aereon can think about!_

"When? How much time do I have left?"

Aereon had taken one of Hope's hands in hers. "I don't know when, but I know it will happen. Don't let your pride get you killed."

"Aereon, we all have to die someday. You have to admit that you don't know when it will happen; it could be in ten years or in fifty, nobody knows. And I will not surrender. His behavior is unacceptable and I know he will not change, neither for me nor for anybody else. I refuse to be his property and I refuse to sit at home waiting for his majesty to come back and grace me with his attention. That simply doesn't work for me. I follow his orders in case of danger but I won't get myself bullied around, left behind when it suits him and taken with him when he …"

"Hope, this is not the time for your personal little fight. You have to get over that and stop whining. Your heart will tell you that his only intention was to keep you safe. He is an alpha male, he has to protect what is his. You might see it as possession but you know that it is his way to show you his love. Just because he is not able to say it out loud does not make it less true, you should know that. I would have expected more of you! You are more like a little child now, acting out of hurt pride than to see the truth behind his behavior." Aereon's voice was calm but the hint of disappointment couldn't be missed.

There was another thing she wanted to discuss with Hope but that could wait until morning; she wanted to let the said sink in and wanted to give Hope time to calm down. And so she left her without a glance back knowing Hope would start thinking as soon as she started to get over her anger.

…

_(xx__)The Terellian p__lage is a devastating viral infection_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

This chapter … _the text in Italic_ … is for everybody who wonders how they passed time between 'Defiant' and 'Still Defiant'.

**XIII.**

Riddick had decided that Ronson would go back his own ship, even if that meant that he and Sam would reach Furya much later. It didn't really matter and they couldn't forego that ship; they already didn't have enough of them. He would imprison that little bastard until they arrived; sooner or later he'd die anyways. That is if he was able to not kill him on the spot to satisfy his thirst for revenge and to give those an example thinking about something like betrayal. But that would mean breaking his own rules and he wanted to avoid that; Furya was home and he intended to live there someday.

He had tried to hail Furya countless times but each time the computer told him that it wasn't possible. He ran scan after scan and all he learned was that it wasn't the Defiant's fault; he had to reduce his travel time at all costs.

Hope had shown him how to manipulate the core to give a 110 in case of an emergency but she also had warned him that it wouldn't be gentle neither to the core nor to the warp nacelles and it would stress the hull integrity to its boundaries. But if that wasn't an emergency than what would qualify as one? As long as the long range com didn't work he couldn't warn her; he didn't want to imagine what could happen, he had to have faith that she was able to protect herself. After all that boy wasn't a real treat for her … he was nothing compared to Simmons; his only advantage was that she didn't know him being the enemy. But she was clever; most likely she had figured it out herself by now. And she wasn't alone there; he knew that Carlos and Tyr would watch over her although he hadn't asked them to. Not to forget Pooh; she had wrapped that hound around her finger. Like him.

He stood up and went to the engine room to check on the core: He was antsy, he had to keep himself busy and so afterwards he started to rummage through the ship. He rearranged the crates with the spare parts for the ship and the backpack from Sinus fell into his hands. There was still something in it and he opened it to have a look. A framed picture of two laughing women appeared … his beautiful Hope and that other woman, Rhonda. What a bitch ...

… _They were on their way to pick up a Furyan in the Medrow sector when they had that malfunction in the life support systems; the atmospheric controls didn't work and they would have run out of fresh air before Hope was done with the repairs. They were near a planet and they managed to land before the situation got critical but Hope had decided that she would have to check the whole system before they could take off again. The problem turned out to be minor but it took her three days to recalibrate everything and after that he thought she would be happy about a day off the ship. A while ago she had cursed her boots pinching her and it was a good opportunity to get her a new pair. _

_They went through the little town like two 'normal' people; they were that far away from everywhere that he didn't suspect to get recognized and their fake IDs were great. He wore the special contact lens she had made for him but just used when absolutely necessary; although they filtered the light better than his goggles he didn't like them coz they applied too much pressure on his hyper sensitive eyes but they made his disguise just perfect. He had to admit that he enjoyed that day; it felt so damn good to act like a normal couple, even more seeing her joy about a day spent like everybody else did. It didn't take long to buy new boots and then she found that little antique book store. He just raised a brow at the sight of it, causing her to laugh._

"_I just can't help it! Books seem to have a special gravity to me. Lots of tiny black holes drawing me towards them." she joked. "Do we have time to have a look?" _

_And of course he obliged. Who could resist that smile, those eyes? He definitely couldn't. She had left everything behind on Sinus and hadn't complained once; she more than deserved a few new books. He draw her to him and wrapped his arms around her. "I may even carry them for you if you are a good girl" he whispered and kissed her right below her ear; her smile and the way she molded against him promised him the special kind of thank you he'd gladly die for. _

_She had looked like a kid in a cookie store when she caught sight of the shelves cramped with uncountable old books and she instantly started to rummage through them. He had a look himself after making sure that the shop was empty except for them and the old, white haired man napping behind the register and looking himself possibly older than his own books, but kept a watchful eye on the door. _

_He wasn't overly alarmed when that woman entered the store but he stayed behind a shelf and made sure that he didn't lose sight of her. He was more than surprised when he heard simultaneously shrieks: "Hope!" "Rhonda!" _**'Shit!'**

_At first the two women talked at the same time and that fast they were hardly to understand. Hope had told him about a Rhonda, her best friend on Sinus. He couldn't help it but he didn't like that woman; she had something false on her. He stayed behind the shelf, ready to take action if necessary and listened:_

"_Hope, my god, you are alive! I can't believe it! I thought that bastard had killed you! I've been so worried! How did you escape? Where is he? He isn't near, is he? I can't believe that I've found you!_

_They hugged each other and Hope didn't seem to hear the undertone in that woman's voice … but he did; and he didn't like it at all._

"_Oh, Ronda, I'm so glad to see you. You look great. What are you doing here that far from Sinus?"_

'Well done, babe, don't give away any information.'

"_I've been to that symposium with Carl and then I came here for some holiday. It's been a tough time after you left and I needed some downtime." She paused or a moment, studied Hope's face. "Come on now, let's go, I'll take you home." and tried to yank Hope out of the store._

"_Rhonda, wait! I'm fine! I didn't run from him, I'm with him on my own will."_

_That caused Rhonda to stop and stare at her. "Hope, come on. You don't know what you are saying; you've been way too long under his sway. They know how manipulative he is, the word 'Stockholm syndrome' felt more than once. You are completely off the hook when you come back. The worst that could happen to you is some counseling. Hope, I know you want to go back, that's no life you are leading. Always on the run. And look at your clothes and your hair ... you look like shit." _

_Riddick had to restrain himself to stay hidden and to not choke that woman. How dare she say something like that? Hope was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen!_

"_Rhonda, Stockholm isn't working with me; I volunteered to help him, he didn't even ask for help."_

"_Christ, Hope, what's wrong with you? You could have had each man you'd have wanted and you settle for HIM? You had the perfect life and left everything behind for that scum?"_

_Riddick had to suppress a grin; he could sense the anger surging within Hope._

_Hope didn't mind when Rhonda told her she'd look like shit; cargos, a tank top and boots were not everyone's cup of tea and surely not Rhonda's, but nobody was allowed to call Riddick scum. "I don't want any other man, I want him. And in no way he is scum!"_

"_You can't be serious! You have a bounty on your head; is that what you wanted for your life? Leave him, I know you can come back. They'll forgive you coz they need you. No one at Compsyn is as brilliant as you are, they didn't make any progress with the core or the cloaking device since you left. Come back. Everything will be like before. Remember how much fun we had, how much you loved your work? Remember your garden, your apartment. You even got promoted!"_

_Riddick had heard enough; that woman was seriously trying to talk Hope into leaving him; compared to the life she was leading now going back to that perfect life of her past really sounded tempting. He stepped around the shelf, causing Rhonda to gasp. He didn't even look at her, he was completely concentrated on Hope._

"_Babe, you have to decide and better be quick; I want out of here before we are drawing attention. If you want to come with me we have to leave now."_

"_Hope, he is manipulating you again, he'll kill you after he's done with you. He is a killer, he has no feelings. Or did he just once tell you that he loves you?" Rhonda had seen Hope's glance at Riddick. "No! See!" She cried out in triumph._

"_Babe, are you with me? Decide!"_

_Hope was temped to cry 'stop'. Both of them were talking at her and she felt like they would start to tear her apart at any moment. _

"_Rhonda, I'm sorry. I don't want to go back. Ever. I like my life the way it is. I want to stay with him." There had never been a doubt where and with whom she wanted to be._

_Rhonda's face changed from worried and friendly to a mask of hate in a split second. "Do you really think I'll let you go just like that? You should rot in slam like the thug you are with and I'll make sure it will happen!"_

"_Rhonda, you've been my best friend! Of all people I thought you'd understand!" Hope was more than shocked about Rhonda's sudden change of behavior. _

"_Understand what? __**You**__ abandoning __**me**__? We've never been good enough for you. You never socialized with the others. Always thought you'd be something better! I've never been your friend; I always knew you'd make it in the upper management and I knew you'd be loyal and take me with you. You've been good for my career, nothing else." Rhonda spit at Hope. "I'll celebrate the day they bring you to slam and I hope you'll die there. You have ruined everything for me. It's been a witch hunt when you left; they even suspected me to know something. You can't believe what I had to do to get them to trust me again. I'm working for Carl now and you know what a pervert he is. I hate you!"_

_Riddick had stepped closer to Hope. "Babe, grab your books. Let's go." His voice was low and calm and in complete contrast to his feelings._

_His hand on her shoulder gave her enough strength not to break out in tears. She was surprised that he let Rhonda's behavior slide but was too beaten to ask him; she just nodded her head and went to pay for her books. _

_Riddick's wordless glare let Rhonda tremble. She was nearly sure he wouldn't kill her in the shop but as soon as she got out of it she was in danger. She intended to alarm the authorities the second the two of them were out of sight; she'd get that reward __**and**__ the revenge._

_Riddick's voice growled deep in his gorge and he knew that bitch was short of wetting her pants. "You are already dead." he whispered in her ear and turned to follow Hope out of the store._

"_Babe, I want you to go back to the ship. Be aware of your surroundings and be careful. We take off as soon as I'm there."_

_Hope knew what he was going to do without having to tell her. "Riddick, she is my friend!"_

"_Babe, she never was. She informs the authorities as soon as we are out of sight and we can't take that risk. Now turn around and go to the ship, you know it has to be done."_

_He never had killed a woman before, hated to be forced to do it but it was too dangerous to let Rhoda get away. Less than ten minutes later that bitch was dead and he had made sure she knew what mistake it had been to hurt Hope and to threaten them; she hadn't been able to inform the authorities about them before. _

_The ship was ready for take off when he joined her in the cockpit. She didn't say a word and he was positive that she was angry with him for killing Rhonda; after all she'd seen her as her friend. He didn't even have the slightest remorse for ghosting that skank; he'd do it again but he had killed someone she knew and cared for and maybe for the first time she saw him as the killer he was._

_He had respected her silence, her being lost in thoughts and had went to their room to give her some privacy; he was staring outside the tiny window and mulling over what she was possibly thinking. When she finally joined him he could sense her consternation and he remained with his back to her, his shoulders tense, waiting for her to talk to him. _

_She stepped behind him, circling his waist with her arms and resting her forehead on his back; not what he had thought she'd do but who was he to complain? They stayed there for minutes in utter silence; he didn't know what he expected her to say but in no way it was what he then heard from her._

"_Riddick, I'm sorry." she whispered. _

What?!_ She leaned with her full weight against him and he got the hint not to turn around. "Babe, I can't think of anything you've done wrong". He didn't get it; why did she apologize? _

"_I've got us into this mess. If I wouldn't have insisted to go into that store you wouldn't have been forced to kill her. It was my fault." _

_He shook his head. "That's what you've been mulling over? I thought you'd be mad with me for killing her. Hope, we really should work on our communication skills."_

_To feel her warm breath between his shoulder blades through the fabric of his shirt sent shivers through him; feeling her breasts pressed firmly against his back made his cock twitch._

_He couldn't suppress a groan when her hands crept under his shirt, her fingertips dancing over his sides while pushing it up to his shoulders and over his head. She kissed her way up his spine in the process, nibbled the outer rim of his ear and then caressed it with her tongue. All that mattered now was to get her naked and under him … talking was completely overrated anyways. _

_However, as it transpired there were some skills they definitely didn't have to work on …_


	14. Chapter 14

**XIV.**

Hope didn't know what had shocked her more … the announcement of her upcoming death or Aereon's giving her a piece of her mind and then leaving her there just like this.

Hope hadn't slept a minute that night; she had a lot to think about … Riddick, his demeanor, hers.

'Would it really have hurt him that much to tell me about his feelings?'

_Does he really need to … don't you already know? _

'At least I had the guts to tell him.'

_Yeah, whom are you kidding? The words slipped per accident out of your mouth; that much for guts._

'Yes, but he doesn't know. And I still hate him.'

_Yeah, keep lying to yourself. __He tells you in his own way. Is it really that hard to cope with his over protectiveness in view of all his good quality?_

'I hate his macho demeanor.'

_Again … he had good reason. _Even her inner voice started to get a bit inpatient with her._ He didn't make that decision thoughtlessly. He was convinced that …_

Tyr's voice pulled her out of her revery.

"Hope, why do you waste my time with a sparring like that? A five year old would do better than you. Concentrate or stop bothering me with that sorry excuse of a workout."

Hope let her hands drop to her sides. She knew that her performance had sucked but met Tyr's inquiring gaze with a glare.

Tyr wasn't impressed. "Oh come on, don't go all ballistic on me now, you know it's the truth."

"Did he ask you to watch over me?"

If he was surprised by her question he didn't show it. "No, why should he? He knows that you are able to stand up for yourself."

"Does he? Then why did he leave without me? He knew I wanted to come with him."

"What happened that you didn't tell us? Something really must have gotten to him to ignore your decision. After all he is a warrior; he does what's necessary to keep the one he loves safe."

"How can you know that he loves me? He never bothered to tell me."

"You don't?" Tyr shook his head in absolute disbelieve. "Hope, you know about his history, you can't expect him to do all that sweet-talk. Protecting you even at the risk of losing you is the way he shows you. Put yourself in his place, just for one second. What would you do … and be honest. Besides that I've seen the way he looks at you."

"Yeah, like his possession."

"Like the most precious thing he's ever seen. He adores you."

"He constantly ignores my decisions."

"Regarding what?"

If she was honest with herself there was just one thing that came to her mind. "My safety?"

"SO? You should cut him some slack there; when he comes back you shouldn't be too hard on him, he doesn't deserve it. And … no offense meant, Hope, but you are the most stubborn and blind person I've ever met."

He was rewarded with another angry glance. "Thought you'd met Riddick." she murmured under her breath and left the gym. "Men ... all in cahoots with each other." It would have been enough if he'd just have answered her questions. She didn't need the insights of a warrior. Did she?

Hope was on her way to her workroom when Kerry shouted at her. "Hope, I've got Charlie on the com. He needs to talk to you. He's got a problem and needs your decision." Since it was Kerry's day of com duty she had taken Charlie's call.

"They aren't in any danger, are they?"

Kerry shook her head. "He doesn't look worried but he didn't tell me what exactly it is he needs help with."

Hope hurried to follow Kerry inside. "Charlie, how are you, what's wrong?" concern making her voice hoarse. "Tell me you are safe! You aren't in any danger, are you?"

Charlie smiled his handsome bright smile. "We are safe, mom. Sorry to have worried you, everything's all right. We are in no danger."

Hope let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. "Smartass. Then what's your problem?" his smile was intoxicating and she just had to smile back.

"You know, we've found that family we were looking for but they won't come with us as long as we don't also take those relatives with us. I've already gathered their data and did some background research on them." He leaned forward and pressed a button. "You should get everything any minute. I need your decision whether they may come along or not."

A sign on the screen indicated that the data transfer was completed.

"I'll look it over and come back to you. Are you in any hurry? Are there any problems with the authorities or any other?"

The young Furyan shook his head. "Nope, it's really nice here, take your time."

She was still reading the data when George changed shifts with Kerry. Com and monitor duty was more that boring for most of them and Hope didn't mind when he offered his help with reading through the curricula vitae. She had studied the data for another hour when she heard George snort behind her.

She gave him a puzzled look. "Did you find something important?"

George grinned at her and she didn't like his grin at all; in fact there was something about that boy that made her uneasy although she tried to not show her feelings; what an Alpha she would be making differences between her people?

"Important? Oh yes, you bet! Except of the family we where looking for they aren't Furyan. None of them is, not even partially. They must be crazy to believe we would let them come to Furya. Relatives, my ass!"

Hope was stunned; she couldn't believe it. She didn't like George but she never had thought of him as a supremacist. "They are not good enough for us because they have no Furyan genes, is that what you want me to tell?"

George nodded his head fervently. "We have a great chance here. We are superior to all the others races; give us enough time and we'll rule the universe."

Hope didn't know what to say; she'd never heard such bullshit before and she had to get that boy straight before he'd become a problem for them.

"George, you can't mean that! How can you possibly think that Furyans are better than everybody else? Each race has its strengths and weaknesses, its assets and limitations; in respect thereof we are no exception. You know what makes the universe go round? Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations! THAT's the way. What I want to say is as long as they follow our rules, live up to our credo they are welcome no matter what race they are; they will be a valuable contribution. There won't be any discussion about that.

And as for you, George, didn't I read in your vita that only your grandfather is Furyan? You are 'just' partly Furyan yourself, so what do you think makes **you** 'worthy'?"

George had a stunned look on his face. "HOPE! I thought you were different! I thought you'd see the picture when you got rid of that convict. I thought you'd finally cleanse Furya from that scum. But you are nothing better!"

Hope stood up. "Enough! Don't you dare and talk like that about Riddick! You are not fit to hold a candle on him! Who the hell do you think you are? And to speak in your terms: other than you Riddick is 100 pure Furyan" She was so angry she had a really hard time not to smack that moron.

"But I thought you'd like me. You smiled at me when nobody else could make you smile.

Hope shook her head; what a psycho. "George, I don't like you more or less than I like all the others here ..." She wasn't able to finish her sentence.

"But you smiled at me!" George was completely beside himself; that talk didn't go according to plan. And then realization hit him: "No, you didn't smile at me … you **laughed** at me!"

Hope sighed. That was beyond her; she was tired arguing with George, she would need help with deciding what to do with him; he could get a real threat for all of them. "No, not at all; you've been just so ... cute; I assure you I did not laugh about you."

But he didn't listen anymore; with a roar he shoved her aside and stormed outside. Hope didn't hold him back; maybe some time to cool off was exactly what he needed. In the meantime she'd make sure he wasn't able to leave the planet. "Damn you Riddick, where are you when I need you?"


	15. Chapter 15

**XV.**

Riddick stashed the picture back in the backpack and hid it behind a crate; no need for her to find it any time soon. He shoved the thoughts about Rhonda aside; let bygones be bygones_. _

He had been on his feet for more than 30 hours and since the last check in the engine room had shown that everything was working like it should and knowing that the ship's computer system would warn him on time if something was wrong he decided to take a nap. He laid down with his head resting on his behind his head crossed arms and his legs crossed at his ankles; he doubted that he was able to sleep but at least he could relax somewhat.

The bed. Fuck, that bed was uninviting and empty without her. It wasn't big but with her way of sleeping they didn't need a bigger one. It seemed as if she never could get close enough to him; most of the time she slept halfway sprawled on top of him, one of her legs between his thighs, her arm across his waist, her head resting on his shoulder. He loved her being wrapped all around him. Immensely. And even more he loved the way she got awake on him, cuddling up even closer, burying her nose in the crook of his neck, inhaling him deeply and after a deep contended sigh her tongue would dart out, licking across his neck; then, at the latest when she'd start to suck at his pulse point, he would flip her over and turn her contended sigh into cries of pleasure and satisfaction.

Except of that night when both of them were at odds with each other. He had just teased her a bit; sometimes she virtually provoked it and then she was really great in making a fuss about nothing ….

… _After their fight she went to bed early and when he joined her she __laid there with her back to him pretending to be asleep and he wasn't in the mood to make the first step either. If she wanted to brood then she should get her will. _

_He got awake coz he was missing his blanket, instead he felt her lips on him. She didn't touch him except with her mouth; her lips ran over his gorge, she nipped the hollow of the bottom of his throat, her teeth scraped across his ribcage, her tongue followed the contours of his abs. With each centimeter she got farther south it got more difficult to fake sleep but he really wanted to know how far she was willing to go. He definitely liked her way of saying 'I'm sorry'. His hands were fisted in the sheets and he was glad she didn't have his night vision. Her breath on his skin sent shivers through him but his ragged breathing when her teeth scraped his nipple finally gave him away; she absolutely knew her way with him. _

_When her tongue dipped into his navel he couldn't suppress a groan. She didn't stay long there, her tongue finally followed the thin hairline that went straight to his ... but no, she had other things in mind; that woman was killing him, but he also knew he would enjoy each second of it. _

_Her hair covered his abdomen, followed her movements. __He had fantasized about her hair on him from the beginning and he had been so right ... he loved how it felt, incredible, like cool silk on his hot skin. It covered his cock, teased it, winded him up even more. _

_When she suddenly sucked at the tender skin of his groin he fisted his hand in her hair "Babe!" He didn't know for how much longer he could stand that __sweet torture; he already was short of coming and she wasn't even nearly there where he wanted her. She ignored his hand in her hair and continued to bite and lick her way from his hipbone down his leg; if he didn't want to hurt her he'd have to release her hair. "Riddick, please …" her eyes pleaded him to stay still. He loosened his grip in her hair, let his fingers glide through it and finally leant back again; it was her turn, her game and he would try to play along as long as he could stand it without grabbing her and fucking her senseless. _

_The muscle in his thigh twitched slightly when she licked across the scar the hammerhead had caused. He wanted her to end it, to finally go for the goal but at the same time he was craving for more; he still wasn't used to the tenderness she had brought into his life and just couldn't get enough of it. And finally, finally she settled herself between his legs, gently nudging them apart, kissing her way back up the inside of his other thigh ... and finally she started to use her hands; those beautiful, gentle hands that set his whole body on fire. Her fingertips ran up his thighs, her tongue left a wet trail across his balls up to the base of his shaft and then she rested her hands on his groin, telling him not to move._

_He liked the way she bit her bottom lip and looked at his length, how she licked her lips in anticipation. He held his breath when she finally lowered her head and slowly and with relish licked from the base of his shaft up to the little drop of precume that was glistening on the top. Her tongue teased the tender skin, swirled around the tip while her hand firmly laid around the base of his length she wasn't able to encircle completely. _

_He closed his eyes and just relished the feeling when she took as much of him into her mouth as she could. She closed her lips firmly around him, her moan reverberated through him and it took all of his willpower not to pound into her mouth; if he wouldn't end it soon he would cum in her mouth and not buried deep inside her. "Babe, please, you have to stop. I don't know how long I …" _

_She looked up for a moment, her eyes dark with passion and lust. He saw the glint in her eye before her teeth grazed the tip of his cock, driving him crazy and then she__ took him even deeper, sucked even harder. Her grip got firmer, her other hand caressed his balls … she absolutely had no intention to stop. And then it didn't matter anymore, he was beyond holding back; when he felt his climax building up his hands fisted in her hair again, holding her in place. His body jerked off the bed, his hips rocked on their own volition, he couldn't restrain himself any longer from pounding into her mouth and he came with a cry and her name on his lips. _

_She didn't stop her ministrations until he fell back and relaxed, not yet completely sated … he'd be when he'd come deep inside her after making her scream his name. The feeling when he held her in his arms and kissed her afterwards, tasting himself on her lips was burned into his brain … it had nearly overwhelmed him. Knowing that this incredible woman was his gave him a feeling of contentment he'd never had before..._

Riddick sighed deeply; sleep would never come as long as he was that aroused. He shouldn't think about fucking her when he was weeks away from Furya, from her; first thing he'd do when he got home would be dragging her into their bed and not letting her get out of it for at least a week.

He stood up again and went to the cockpit; he tried once more to hail them but again the computer told him it wouldn't be possible. He rescanned the area to eliminate other reasons that could cause that failure ... there were no plasma storms, no solar eruptions, no nothing and the more often he failed to reach them the more he got worried.


	16. Chapter 16

**XV****I.**

Hope was just finished with disabling George's ship when Aereon crossed her path.

"Hope, it is time that we have a little conversation."

Hope really didn't have the nerve for that Elemental at the moment but the sooner she got it over with the sooner Aereon would leave the planet; they already had enough problems without her causing some more. So she just nodded. "We'll meet at the lake in ten; I have to talk to Tyr first."

She found him bent over some strategic plans in his office. "Tyr, we've got a problem with George. He isn't allowed to leave the planet and he isn't allowed to use the com room; find him and detain him. I have to talk to Aereon, I'll explain everything afterwards. Take Carlos with you, George is completely beside himself, he could be dangerous."

Tyr didn't even raise an eyebrow at her request; he just checked the weapon in his belt and went for Carlos.

Hope sighed … one problem solved; at least for the moment. Taken care of that she went to meet Aereon. She found her sitting on a flat stone in front of the lake, watching the hounds. Aereon patted on the stone beside her, inviting Hope to sit down. It was a lovely, peaceful place; the lake was deep blue, a soft breeze rippled the surface and sent tiny waves across the lake. Birds sang in the trees and from time to time you could observe them hunting for the colorful insects living in the water's edge. During the hot hours in the afternoon the hounds came here to nap in the shadows of the trees that surrounded the little clearance. It was secluded but not very far from the village and Hope loved that place; it held a lot of very pleasurable memories.

"Hope, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to be rude but I'm worried about your well-being."

"Never mind, Aereon." Hope nodded. "I have to apologize as well. I'm still angry with him and shouldn't take it out on everybody else."

"But you'll forgive him, won't you?"

"Come on, Aereon, why can't you just drop it? But yes, most likely. I know him and me too well to have major doubts about that. He is a prick but I love him too much to not reconcile." _'After making him eat a lot of crow'_ she added in her mind. "Satisfied?" And she meant it; maybe her talk with Tyr hadn't been completely in vain at all. Maybe she had needed somebody like him kicking her ass to get over her stupid sulking. And also she never would admit it she hadn't lied when she had told Riddick she was his. She was. Absolutely.

Aereon gave her a warm smile; it's been the answer she had waited for, now she was ready to get the good news. "We most likely have found Taylor."

That short sentence dropped like a bomb. Hope couldn't get out a word at first. Had Aereon really said that they had found Taylor? No, wait … most likely. "Aereon, forgive me if I sound a bit skeptically, but I've heard that before. How much likely?"

Aereon handed her a flexi. "That much likely. We don't have any DNA to compare yet but his records seem to proof it. Don't you think he looks like you?"

Hope's heart beat that fast she was afraid it would explode. She stared unbelievingly at the picture of a handsome tall man with eyes exactly likes hers. "You have found him." She knew it was Taylor, every fiber in her body told her so. She scrolled through the data, tried to read everything at the same time, the rest of the world completely forgotten.

"Hope, Hope!" It was not until she felt Aereon's hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently that she realized that she had totally backed out. "What? I'm sorry, I didn't listen." She also hadn't heard the rustle in the bushes behind her.

She sprang to her feet "Come on, let's give the others the good news! We have to equip a ship! I go to Borean!" Her thoughts ran a mile a minute, George was completely forgotten for the moment. "And I have to hail Riddick!" With a bright smile on her face she ran back to look for Laney and met Kerry on her way. She couldn't help but clasp her in a tight embrace. "She's found him, she's found Taylor!"

They laughed and danced around each other, causing Laney and a few others rushing to the scene. Hope flung her arms around Laney; she was that happy she felt like giving the whole planet a hug. "Aereon has found Taylor! I go and hail Riddick and then we'll get a ship ready. I can't wait to meet him!"

And she couldn't wait to talk to Riddick, to share her happiness with him. She sat down in front of the com station and tapped in the code that would connect her with the Defiant; in her excitement she put in the wrong letter-figure combination and so she had to put in the code again. And again. And again.

"Hope, what's wrong?" Kerry stood behind her, wondering why Hope's mood had changed that drastically; she wanted to go with her and since asking in front of the others was not an option for her she had followed her to the com room.

Hope's face was a mask of hurt and confusion. "He refuses to talk to me" she whispered.

"I'm sure you have put in the wrong code; just try it again. Why would he do something like that? Or maybe there are some solar storms or something like that. I can think of a hundred reasons why you can't hail him."

Hope shook her head. "I've tried it seven times. And each time the computer tells me that the Defiant gets, but refuses to take my call. Why, Kerry? What did I miss?"

"Hope, there is an explanation for it, don't attach too much importance to a simple transmission error."

But Hope knew better; there was no transmission error. "It's all right, Kerry. Please don't mention it in front of anyone, especially Laney or Aereon. I don't want their pity." Or another one of Aereon's death predictions.

Commotion outside let them sit up and listen attentively. "George! Shit, I've completely forgotten about him." They dashed out and towards the noise.

Tyr and Carlos had cornered George in front of one of the houses; he was armed with a gauss riffle and was holding Rita at gunpoint. Hope shoved her way through the crowd, stepping up in front of George.

"George, drop that gun! Now! I mean it."

He gave her a furious look, his gun didn't waver "You have disabled my ship!"

"I'm sorry, but I had to. We have to talk before you are allowed to leave."

"There is nothing I want to talk about with you; you have made your point clear. All I want is leave. My uncle was right with you but I didn't listen. I told him to leave you coz you are not like Riddick but you are nothing better. And now I can't reach him."

"George, I don't understand … you didn't even use the com room; and since when do you have an uncle?" What the hell was he talking about? He must have lost it completely.

"I don't need the com room, I have long range com in my ship. And he's not really my uncle, he was a friend of my father." He sounded pretty whiny-voiced by now.

"Tell me about that uncle of yours, maybe I can help you to reach him. Why didn't you tell us about him?"

"Ha! Nobody knew about Uncle Simmons; we made sure about that. Don't you think for a second that you are the only geek here on Furya. I made sure you could only find what I wanted you to see. We knew about Riddick and the bounty on his head; we could have used the money for the reconstruction! You owe it to me that Uncle Simmons left you. He would only have Riddick brought to slam."

Uncle _Simmons!?! _Hope had difficulties to breathe, all of a sudden she seemed to be back on that planet, she could feel again the panic she felt when she thought Riddick was dead, feel the anger she felt when she saw that scum with his boot on Riddick's back; and the satisfaction when she saw the life draining out of the merc's body.

"Left me? Your uncle wasn't completely honest with you; he intended to cashier my bounty and take me to slam as well. Didn't you know that?"

"That's not true! He wouldn't lie to me. He promised to leave you for me. What did you do to him? Why can't I reach him? I can see that you know something!"

And then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Cracking noises, a pack of hounds with a livid Pooh in front of them storming out of the wood, fangs bared, spikes ruffled and murder in their eyes, George releasing Rita and aiming at Hope, Tyr trying to cover her body with his own from a projectile that never left its magazine and eventually an inhuman, bloodcurdling cry.

The creepiest thing indeed was the silence that had fallen over the place, that except of George cries everything happened in utter silence; no barking or growling of the hounds, no sounds of the people watching; the birds seemed to have stopped chirping and even the wind in the trees seemed to hold its breath.

The pack had reached George before he was able to pull the trigger and nobody was able to do anything against what happened then, they were frozen in place and watched in horror the hounds tearing George to pieces.


	17. Chapter 17

**XVII.**

He had finally given up running futile scans; it wasn't a space anomaly causing the transmission failure … the cause of the problem laid on Furya. A failure in the com station? Not likely; Hope would have repaired that by now. And there was only one other explanation he could think of: sabotage … the guy Ronson mentioned. He could only hope that Furya hadn't gotten overrun by mercs; they were still so few and with only Hope, Tyr and Carlos as noteworthy warriors they'd never be able to stand against them.

He shouldn't have left like that.

But he would make up for his leaving her again.

Yes, it's been a fucking mistake leaving her behind on Furya. He didn't make mistakes often but he wasn't above admitting it when he did.

He would not repeat that mistake.

He'd had no other choice when he hid her from the mercs back on that planet but this time … she had all rights to be pissed with him. He should have made it clear that he had only done it to keep her out of harms way and not to get his way; he had done it because his feelings for her wouldn't allow anything less than keep her safe and happy.

If he'd have a saying in it they'd never part again.

He leaned back in the pilot's chair and tried to relax. There was nothing to do on the ship and you can workout only so often. And apart from that hitting the gym without her was just a matter of staying in shape anyways; there was absolutely no fun in it.

He had to occupy his mind; and how to do that in a better way than letting his mind wander back again … to the first fight they had to pass as a team …

_They were running out of the pergium__ (**) they needed for the environmental systems; they had to look for a mine selling it and found one on a little planet at the frontier to the next quadrant. _

_It was that unimportant and that far away you should assume that nobody had ever heard about them there. But you shouldn't assume anything … thanks very much to Murphy 's Law._

_It was hot as hell on that jerkwater planet with its small resources of pergium. The mining village consisted of a couple dozen houses, a bar, a store and surprisingly a church; not very common in the average mining village. After the fiasco on Orkas landing on a planet had palled on Hope; she had been to mines before looking for what she needed and apart from that she was much more confident in her abilities to defend herself and so she insisted on going straight to the mine while he took care to stock up everything else they would need. She would have ordered the pergium online if that would have been possible but she had to make sure that it was pure enough for their purpose._

_He didn't like her going there on her own but they used the headsets; he would hear everything and he'd be able to watch over her the whole time._

_The office of the charge hand was covered in pergium dusk, the desk total chaos; flexis and dirty cups fought for a place with cigar ends and family photos. The charge hand himself was heavily built, his hands big and calloused, his voice booming, a mess of short white curls crowned a big, furrowed face._

"_Sorry." he said and cleared the table in one swift move, shoving everything except of the photos into a wastebasket. "We don't have a lot of female visitors here." His attitude was candid and reminded Hope a bit of a much younger Gramps; she liked him instantly._

"_Now let's see what you need." He took the flexi with the specifications Hope handed him._

"_Mhm. We've got that. May I ask for what purposes you'll need it?"_

_There was something in the man's eyes and voice that alarmed her, his meaningful glance to the corner of the room convinced her that something was wrong. "Ah, I don't know, we are just middlemen?" she tried to think of a story._

""_Well, then let's see what we can do for you." _

_As soon as they were outside the man grabbed her shoulder. "I know who you are, your mug shot is hung out in each pergium mine. We are instructed to ask each customer about the intended use and to tell on everybody that is asking for especially what you need. You and your boyfriend have quite a bounty on your head." He had sensed her tensing up and quickly continued "Calm down, I won't turn you in. I'm no fucking snitch for those blues and I don't like getting bullied around by the company in my own office. If they want you so badly they should fucking go themselves for you." _

_They had reached the huge storage room. "I've searched the net about you; you made me curious. Scientist and stuff teaming up with a murderer. Made me wonder. What the hell did you think by helping a convict and stealing a space ship anyways? You've got Compsyn AND the Company on your necks. … My, my, you love that convict … that's it, isn't it?" He shook his head and sighed._

_Hope felt like a kid getting reprimanded by her father. She wanted to defend her decision, tell him that he was wrong about Riddick but he cut her off._

"_You remind me of my daughter. Stubborn girl. Could have had a captain and fell in love with a dirty miner. But she's happy with him and that's what counts in the end. I gave her a hard time and nearly lost her; I learned my lesson and that's why I help you. You, not him. There is a squad of those blues in town; they came along with the mugshots. Company knows what you need for your ship and you'll run into them at each mine you'll go. And now take your pergium and leave. And be careful, I don't think we have fooled them." He shoved her out of the door and went back to the office without another glance at her, murmuring something about stupid women the whole way back to his office._

_Hope stashed __the pergium into her bag. "Riddick, did you hear everything? What shall I do now?"_

"_Yeah, loud and clear. Go on as we had planned it. And babe … be careful!" _

_Riddick cursed. The Defiant had its advantages but to be in need of strange crystals and unusual materials made them vulnerable. He'd have to think of something._

_It was amazing how she affected people. The miner could have made a fortune selling them out, instead he had decided to help her … but he shouldn't wonder … she'd had that effect on him from the first second._

_He hurried through town, ghostlike, senses on high alert. They had appointed the time for their visit there wisely in the late hours of the afternoon and it was easy for him to blend in the shadows, becoming a shadow himself._

_There had been no signs of the blues in town but they wouldn't hang out in the open anyways and there was no time to 'interrogate' one of the locals. The mine was situated a few miles out of town and he hurried to reach their meeting point. _

_Halfway between town and the mine laid an area with lots of boulders, most of them more than man-high and with small paths between them. And behind that field well hidden the Defiant. He closed up to Hope even before she reached the rocks. She had one of her shivs already in her hand, the other stabled the bag with the pergium in it. _

"_Babe, hand me that bag." It would be hard enough for her without the added weight; he would have left the pergium behind if they wouldn't have needed it that badly and apart from that with that stock of pergium they wouldn't have to land again anytime soon._

"_Riddick, did you see those blues?" Her eyes were big and she was a bit out of puff but not afraid. _

_He shook his head no. "But that's no reason to celebrate, we haven't arrived at the ship yet so don't get your hopes up."_

_They sashayed the small paths between the rocks, stopping short of the periphery … between them and the Defiant stood a squad of blues, heavily armed and ready to kill them at first sight. One of them tried to open the hatch of the Defiant ... good luck with that._

_Riddick turned to Hope and laid his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs caressed her neck._

"_Babe, we'll have to fight our way through to the ship. There is no other way. You'll stay behind me, I'll crack their formation, you follow closely, watch my back. Don't let them separate you from me and follow my lead. Hope … I mean it. That are 12 heavily armed and trained soldiers, not three dumb mercs. No flying solo, understood? And if I say 'down' … you know what I mean." His brow was raised, his gaze inquisitory._

_Hope just nodded wordlessly._

_She had the shivs in her hands like he had taught her, her body was relaxed, her mind focused. He felt an irrepressible surge of pride … what a woman … his woman._

_Her smile was just a bit shaken "Let's teach them to mess with a geek." She tried to joke._

_From the expression on her face he could tell that she was thinking about her fight with the mercs on Orkas. "You've been great then and you'll do even better now, babe. Trust me. Everything will be all right, you'll see. We'll go right through them, no pity, babe, they don't have any on you. We'll have to kill them all or we won't make it off that planet. Just remember what I taught you"._

_He hadn't seen__ her fight with the mercs on Orkas, just the results and he was nearly looking forward to see her in action._

_The blues had tricorders with them and knew that they were hiding between the rocks. They didn't attack coz they knew only too well that they stood no chance against them as long as they didn't come out and also knew that there was no other way to get to the ship than through them. It didn't take long until the sergeant called out, seemingly tired of the waiting._

"_We know you are there, just come out and bow to the inevitable."_

"_I bow to no man and to no circumstances!" Riddick growled for the soldier not to hear. _

_The sergeant didn't like getting no answer. "You've gone totally around the bend if you think you can stand up against us, capitulate and you'll both live."_

"_Like hell__ we'll surrender; ready to rock'n'roll, babe?" he smiled at her, choosing his words carefully to take her thoughts away from the graveness of the situation, his smile cheering her up and calming her down._

_Yes, she was ready; he couldn't sense any fear or hesitation, she held herself in readiness, waiting for his command to cut loose._

_Hope took a deep breath; she had to reassure herself that it wouldn't be like her fight with the mercs on Orkas (***); this time she had Riddick at her side._

"_Let's get nitty-gritty." Hope smiled as a response with grim determination in her eyes; she wouldn't let him down. She would make him proud of her. All of a sudden making him proud was the only important thing to her. Where there had been hesitation on Orkas there was nothing but the knowledge what to do and the certainty to be able to do it now._

_The bag with the pergium shot across the place like a canon ball, taking out the blue that was trying to open the hatch. There was the sickening crunch of breaking bones to hear … the cervical vertebra giving way. One down, eleven left._

_The soldiers didn't leave their positions, stood their ground but Riddick hadn't expected anything else. After throwing the bag he and Hope quickly moved to the left in the direction of the now nearly completely sunken sun, using the last shafts of sunlight to their advantage._

"_Babe."_

"_Riddick."_

_Those two words said more than thousand words could have, tons of emotions none of them would talk about lying in them._

_Riddick tore out of their cover, his shivs raised, his face a frightening mask of fury, their nemesis to come. He covered the distance to the remaining soldiers of the squad in a heartbeat._

_At this close range the blues weren't able to use their riffles if they didn't want to kill one of their own and in a combat shiv to shiv, hand to hand they stood no chance against Riddick. He was everywhere at the same time, his shivs cutting and slicing a breach through them. He mowed them down with deadly efficiency. _

_Hope followed closely in Riddick's wake, close enough to not get separated from him but not too close to disable him to do what had to be done. The soldiers tried to get into their back, tried to attack from the rear but Hope was wary of that, used her shivs without any uncertainty, the soldiers Riddick didn't ghost fell from her shivs._

_One by one the blues went down, dead or at least lethally wounded, no more threat to them._

_To__ a casual bystander it might have looked like a choreographed dance. Both of them seemed to know what the other was going to do, where he would move to, which step she would take._

_It didn't take more than ten minutes until the dreadful slaughter was over. The two of them stood in the middle of a battlefield, 12 dead or nearly dead bodies scattered around them. Riddick didn't even sweat, but his clothes and hands were soaked in blood, his face full of blood splatters. Hope didn't look any better … sweat mingled with the blood drops in her face, ran down her cheeks in little pink streams. She was breathing heavily and holding her arm where one of the soldiers had cut her. _

"_Babe, you OK?" Riddick looked her over but didn't see another wound than the one on her arm. "Babe!" he was a bit concerned when he didn't get an answer and took her chin into his hand to make her look at him. "Babe?"_

_She seemed kinda dazed, like she was awakening after a sleep haunted with nightmares. Hope blinked a few times and swallowed, the wings of her nose blew up at her attempt to suck air into her lungs. "It's over, isn't it? We have showed them not to mess with us, haven't we?" Her eyes suddenly went big when she saw a movement behind Riddick and without even thinking about it she threw her knife._

_Riddick had turned around to see the last convulsions of the dying sergeant; he had his riffle in his hand, the muzzle pointing at them and Hope's knife buried deep in his forehead. _

"_I think I've created a monster" he grinned at her, pulling her close to him "and I couldn't be more proud of you." …_

She had been right that they were a complementary team. They had fought hand in hand, the interplay of their movements flawless. If up to it the two of them could wrack havoc across the whole universe and back and nobody would ever be able to stop them.

He had to tell her that he left without her just because he wouldn't stand seeing her getting hurt. That he often wasn't able to see behind that fragile form of hers, couldn't see her strength. And she was a damn good warrior … she had proved it.

Fuck, he missed her so much; and maybe he would even tell her. He knew he should talk more to her anyways. But she had always seemed to be content with his being monosyllabic. He couldn't figure out why she was still so insecure about some things; especially him. But when she needed to hear it he would tell her how much he … felt for her. He had to grin a bit about himself. _'Infamous Richard B. Riddick afraid of a lousy little single word.'_ A word he hadn't used once in his whole life.

_(__**) Pergium is a radioactive element used for power … Hope needs it for the environmental control system _

_(***) Chapter XVIII of 'Defiant'_


	18. Chapter 18

**XVII****I.**

**1/3**

It was a silent crowd standing in front of George's ship bidding Hope good bye. George's ship was the only one available at the moment and Hope didn't look forward to climb into a cryo tube but since Riddick refused to talk to her she had no clue when he would be back and she was not up to wait for an indefinite time, she wanted to look for Taylor now.

She had scanned the ship, each centimeter of it and had found a locator beacon she intended to destroy on her way; she wanted who ever was monitoring it to think that George had left Furya. And she had found that long range com system George had mentioned. George had been a good engineer, that much she had to give him. What a pity that he had hid it from them and had used his skills to betray them.

Hope hugged everybody a last time; Rita, Tyr, Carlos and all the others, she had a few words for each of them. They'd had a debriefing the evening before, they would proceed without any problems until she or Riddick came back.

Aereon held Hope at arm's length "Hope, I'm worried. You have to find out why he didn't take your call. You know what's at stake; for you **and** the universe, you are the Furyan alpha female, you have to fulfill your obligations."

Hope raised a brow and flashed an angry glance at Kerry who had the decency to turn red. "I'm sorry, Hope, but you know how they are. Laney and she teamed up against me and they kept asking and drilling me and then I accidentally slipped a remark."

Hope wasn't really angry with Kerry; she knew sooner or later they'd find out. She focused her attention back to Aereon which still hadn't released her.

"Hope, I've warned you; you'll die if you don't rejoin Riddick."

Hope had enough; it wasn't her fault that he refused to talk to her. She wriggled out of Aereon's grip. "Fuck you, Elemental. I've never asked for that job, all I ever wanted was Riddick so stop blackmailing me. And stop rattling my people with stupid prophecies; maybe it is the best for all of us when you leave Furya. And this is not a suggestion."

She turned to Laney and was instantly sorry for her. "Laney, no need to cry. I won't die, I'll be fine; don't let yourself get worried by that drama queen. And I'll bring Taylor home. They need you as long as I'm away; you have to hold them together. I'm counting on you."

Laney had problems speaking but after a few deep breaths she even managed to put a smile on her face. "Hope, all our love is with you. Promise me you'll take care of you."

By now Hope was a bit teary herself "I promise, Laney. You take care of yourself and Furya, yes?"

Kerry accompanied her to the hatch; Hope had decided that she wouldn't take Kerry with her, they needed her on Furya and she didn't expect any problems with her brother she wouldn't be able to solve on her own.

"Hope, I want to give you something; it's from my grandma." Kerry held a necklace with a small silvery stone dangling down in the middle in her open palm. "It's important to have some good juju with you."

Hope shook her head. "Et tu, Kerry? I don't have any death cooties on me, I'd know that." she tried to lighten the mood. "That's really sweet of you, but not necessary. I don't believe in those prophecies."

Kerry thrust the necklace into Hope's hand. "Just humor me and take it, OK? You won't leave until it's around your neck. And you will not remove it."

Hope could see the true concern and worry in Kerry's eyes and didn't reject her gift any longer. "I'll bring it back to you."

After a last hug she quickly closed the hatch before Pooh could sneak in again; as much as she would have liked to take him with her a small space ship was no place for a hound.

The course was quickly set and the autopilot took over after leaving the Furyan system. She considered to hail Riddick again, to try it a last time but then she decided against it; it would be like rubbing salt in an open wound if he would refuse to talk to her again.

She didn't like cryo sleep any more than Riddick did, in fact each of them hated it; might be a Furyan thing. As soon as she came back she would start building a second ship like the Defiant; they really were in need of a second ship with a few more skills than those they currently had.

So she had decided to stay awake for a good part of the journey; she had enough rations with her and the ship's environmental systems wouldn't have any problems with a single passenger. She had brought some work with her and the first weeks passed by with working on the blueprints for shields that would protect the ship better than the polarized hull plating.

To her surprise she had more difficulties to cope with the silence than she would have thought. She had heard those stories about space travelers gone crazy after weeks of isolation and silence in space; she knew what that could do to someone's mind. She had the computer programmed to play all her favorite music and she had started to sing along but that didn't help. She didn't sleep well, was constantly exhausted and lost weight. When she started to look over her shoulder she decided that time had come for cryo sleep. The next morning she would clean up and make sure everything was working as it should, hail Furya a last time and then good night until Borean.

It was in that last night before cryo sleep when she had that dream of Riddick; not that she wouldn't constantly think or dream about him but that dream had been that real … she could still feel his hands on her. Unable to go back to sleep she recalled her dream; they once had been in a similar situation...

… _They had barely started their search and everything was still so new for both of them. They had left Furya a few weeks ago and after an exhausting workout he had decided that she would need some more field training._

"_You are still not aware of your surroundings__ and we have to change that. The workout here is good for strength, to learn moves and performance but you can't practice any other skills in here. You have to exercise what I've shown you on Furya."_

"_And you think a walk through the jungle would make me aware?" Hope was anything but thrilled about that idea. She could think of a lot of pleasurable things he had shown her on Furya but field training was none of it. _'Damn, Hope, get your head out of the gutter!'

"_Babe!" _

'Oh, fine, he is amused.'_ How she hated that smug smile of his. Why did he just always have to know what she was thinking?_

"_Babe, it's written all over your face! Apart from that you know that I can smell it."_

'Cripes!'_ She really would have to work on that._

_Riddick's smile broadened. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer "I wouldn't want to have it any other way." His kiss … as always … let her forget her anger about him for the moment._

_And so they landed on that jungle planet. She didn't like what she found out about it: It never got colonized because of the unnatural fast growing of the plants; as soon as they had cleared an area it got overgrown again in no time and after a year of futile efforts the terraformers had abandoned the planet. _

_Riddick handed her a map of the area they would traverse, marks on the landing place and their destination. _

"_From here to there it's about 20 klicks, you can do that easily. Now, the rules of the game: you have to reach that lake and you have to find me without getting found by me." _

"_And what if a scary animal finds me?" She still didn't like the idea a bit._

"_I assure you that I'm the scariest animal that will find you, so don't worry." And after a feral grin he added "or maybe you should just because … who knows?"_

_Hope was too grumpy to comment on that. "You know that nobody is able to find you when you are hiding." she whined._

"_You ain't nobody; at least try!" _

"_I hate you, you know that?"_

"_Yeah, you've shown me last night. How often? I stopped counting at …"_

_Hope hit his chest and glared at him, her face beet red in embarrassment. "You are such a jerk! Maybe you should think about doing it yourself because I definitely… " _Shit, big mistake! Completely forgotten about rule #2 'Don't tempt Riddick'.

_Riddick just grinned "If that's one of your phantasies then I'll be happy to oblige, babe."_

_Maybe if she tried really hard she could hate him at least a bit._

"_I will not eat bugs and caterpillars! I'll take those rations with me and don't you dare and try to take them away from me." _

"_You can take them. And now stop pouting, babe, I'll make it worth your while." He gave her a smoldering kiss and before she got rid of her dizziness he was gone._

'Shit, he really meant it.' _He was out there with only his shivs and nothing else, absolutely confident that he wouldn't need anything else and she was absolutely positive that he was enjoying himself immensely. _

_He had made her leave her tricorder (*) and her PADD behind and that made her feel half naked. The only thing except of the field rations, the water and her shivs he had allowed her to use was that compass he had given her. _'Who in hell and at all still uses a compass?'

'It would be cheating to use your PADD_' he had told her. _

'Yeah! Just because of that little scanner. Cheating, my ass.'_ As if she would be an equal opponent for him. _

_She had a last longing glance at the ship and then turned to get herself going … and stopped amidst her step._ _Just a moment … the ship … he hadn't explicitly said she had to WALK through the jungle, she just had to REACH the lake; maybe she could … and then … Deep in thought chewing her bottom lip she hadn't heard him approach._

"_Don't__ even think about it, Hope." Riddick's voice whispered in her ear. He laughed out loud when she shrieked and gasped for air. _

"_Damnit, Riddick, make some noise, will you! Some day you'll kill me with your sneaking up at me! "_

"_Babe, you need all the exercise you can get, don't you ever fool yourself thinking otherwise." He turned her around until she faced the jungle and with a pat on her butt he gave her a gentle shove. "Get moving."_

_After a step Hope stopped again. "I didn't say I wouldn't __**need**__ it, all I said was I do not __**want**__... " she turned around … he had done it again … she was speaking to an empty place "… to. Jerk."_

_  
TBC in 2/3_

(*) Tricorder … sophisticated handheld device … portable sensing, data analysis, data communications device with many specialized abilities


	19. Chapter 19

_**XIX**__**.**_

_**2/3**_

… _s__till on that jungle planet …_

_She was used to a prospering flora from her home planet but the flora there was nothing compared to that jungle. Green in all shades wherever she looked, interrupted by just a few flowers, orchids maybe … hard to tell without her tricorder, vines dangling down from trees that high they seemed to reach the little sky she could see between all the branches, leaves and fronds. It was warm, maybe 107°F and damp; a humidity between 90 and 100 %. The moisture had already started to soak into her shirt and her hair felt heavy and like glued to her head. She didn't like the feeling of wet hair in her neck in the least and so she rolled her braid up into a bun and stuck a little wooden stick into it to hold it in place; much better._

_She heaved a sigh and oriented herself; he had shown her how to use that crappy ancient device and to get it over with she finally set off. How she hated that antiquated thing with its magnetized pointers._

_After two klicks of crawling over rotten tree trunks and wading through muddy puddles she didn't want to know which animals inhabited it she wasn't grumpy anymore … she started to hate that place and that field training thing wholeheartedly. She would make him pay for that; big time. She wasn't cut out for jungle excursions. After all what where the odds to get found by a merc in a fucking jungle? She still couldn't see the point in this whole walk through the mud, get bitten by strange insects and look for somebody you are not able to find in 100 years without your tricorder kind of thing. _

_And what would come next? Wading through hip dip snow and freezing her ass off? Getting roasted on a desert planet? Not long and he would have turned her into a fucking Rambo. Riddick definitely had a sadistic streak._

_She was so angry, so completely not aware of her surroundings she nearly ran into that big ... no make that giant … snake dangling down a branch in front of her. To her relieve the snake ignored her and kept hanging motionless down that tree; the jungle was creepy enough without an angry snake chasing her. She carefully stepped around the tree and continued her march; she paid much more attention now, listened closely to the cacophony of the jungle; Riddick would have been proud of her. Probably._

_20 klicks hadn't sounded very far but over that terrain it felt like a walk across the whole planet. The already dim light had gotten less and less in the last hour and she hadn't made even half of the way yet; she would have to find a place where she could stay the night. She was too afraid of night active carnivores to stay down on the ground and so she started to look for a tree she would be able to climb up. She made herself comfortable on a big branch, took out one of the rations and sipped some water. She wondered where Riddick was; she hadn't bothered to look for him knowing it would be in vain anyways. Most likely he was already at the lake laughing his ass off about her inability to move faster; she was sooo pissed with him. Sadistic power monger._

_In her fear to fall off the branch she just dozed and was wide awake when the black of the night faded to grey and finally turned into the semidarkness of a jungle day. She ate another one of her rations and was ready to climb down when she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't suppress a grin when she saw what … who it was._ 'Not able to find him, huh?'_ she swung her leg across the branch and let herself drop down on him ... just to get caught by two strong arms attached to a wide grinning Riddick._

"_Nice try, babe, what took you so long? I already thought I'd have to hire a band so you'd find me."_

_Hope struggled to get her feet down to the ground and glared at him. "Come on, you are a lousy loser; I've found you, deal with it."_

_When his grin just broadened she let her head fall onto his shoulder. "OK, I haven't found you. Are we finished now? Can we go back? Please! I really hate it here. There was that big snake yesterday and that creepy monkey thing and all those insects …"_

_Riddick finally let her stand on her own feet but still didn't release her. "Babe, the snake was full of a meal bigger than you and ignored you and the monkey was more afraid of you than otherwise. As for those bites … I'll kiss them better later when you get to the lake but now you should get going if you don't want to spend another night out here." He met her glare with a light kiss on her lips. _

"_You've watched me the whole time? You've doubted from the beginning that I could make it out here, haven't you?" Now that pissed her off even more._

"_No, babe, just wanted to make sure you are doing OK. It's your first time in a jungle; I'd never endanger you and I'd never let anything happen to you. Now keep going. That direction." He turned her around and before she was able to give him a piece of her mind he was gone again. He was soo up for some revenge._

_That day she seriously tried to find him; she didn't succeed though but her looking for him let her have a closer look at the jungle and when she finally started to see more than dirt and biting insects she actually started to appreciate the wild beauty of the planet._

_Since the landscape ascended a bit the ground got drier and she made good progress; she reached the rock formation with the lake on its first plateau short after noon. Climbing was her choice of sports and it didn't take long for her to reach the plateau. It was a breathtaking sight that greeted her when she heaved herself across the edge. The lake wasn't big, the water deep blue and crystal clear; she was able to see straight down to the bottom. The lake got fed by a broad waterfall falling down a rock face, producing a rainbow across the edge nearby. The stones were sun warmed and the sounds of the jungle seemed far away; after all those sounds down there it was nearly silent. Pulling off boots and socks and sitting down with her feet in the water didn't even take half a minute. _

_She knew that Riddick was near,__ she had no problems sensing him; not seeing him didn't mean anything. The water felt incredible on her naked feet, she would have loved to go for a swim. She took a closer look and couldn't see any animals in the water ... so why not? She stood up to unbutton her cargos when a thought crossed her mind, putting a wicked grin on her face._ 'Payback's a bitch, Riddick.'

_She took her time to unbutton her cargos, opened slowly one button after the other. She knew Riddick had to be on the other side of the lake, maybe up the next plateau or hidden behind the waterfall and made sure he had a good sight of what she was doing. And she knew he would be curious enough to watch; not to mention the fact that each man would. She held up her face to the sun, let it warm her cheeks, her right hand sneaked slowly into her pants; she knew Riddick wouldn't miss a detail. A sensual smile graced her face when her fingers reached the waistband of her undies and then got farther south. She bit her bottom lip to contain the moan that wanted to escape her lips… mmmh, that felt damn good but she had more in her mind. _

_She pulled her hand out, sucked at her finger before she turned around and started to slip down her trousers, caressing her hips and her thighs in the progress. With straight knees she bent down to pick them up, giving Riddick a good sight; she folded them and placed them on her boots, making sure her shirt rode wide above her hips._

_She was glad she had put on her white shirt yesterday … the effect would be much better. She waded into the water until it reached up half her thighs. She put out the stick that held her bun together, removed the tie and with a lazy gesture she loosened her braid, combed with her fingers through her hair until it fell down in soft waves._

_She put on quite a show wetting her arms and face, 'accidentally' dripping as much water as she could over her shirt, drawing a deep, shirt expanding breathe before submerging into the surprisingly cold water. She did some laps and dived for some glimmering stones until she started to freeze._

_Her shirt clung to her, leaving not much to the imagination when she finally stepped out of the water. She wrung most of it out of her hair and laid down on the warm, flat stones near the lakeside, her knees slightly pulled up, her hair in wild wet curls around her head. She didn't bother to undress her shirt, it had already started to dry in the warm sun. The warmth and the quiet were sleep-soothing … but she had a man to tease, no time for a nap; timing was the linchpin of the entire 'operation'! _

_With a silent moan she slid her hands slowly down her shirt, stopping over her breasts, caressing them before going farther down to the hem of her shirt, ever so slowly pulling it up over her tummy and up to her neck, exposing herself to his eyes; she definitely savored the situation. While her right hand teased her already erect nipples the other slid into her panties, caressing the soft skin below her navel. Her breathing had started to quicken, she imagined Riddick kneeling between her legs, imagined his hands on her. She spread her legs a little further, bit her bottom lip when her fingers reached her dripping wet folds. She had completely forgotten that it had started as a game to tease Riddick when her index finger circled her clit; all that mattered at the moment was her own satisfaction. Her breath came in short pants, she already could feel her climax building up when she plunged a finger inside her. Her hips thrust against her hand, quicker, and then it washed trough her, leaving her panting and aching for more. _

_She waited until she had her breathing under control again and then sat up; she had to get dressed before Riddick reached her or the effect would be ruined._

_She had her cargos back on and was already lacing up her boots when a shadow fell over her._

"_Oh, hi, Riddick, what took you so long? I'm already here for quite a while." Her eyes were bright, she was smiling innocently and she was clearly acting like an Oscar nominee._


	20. Chapter 20

A/N:

Thanks again to my wonderful beta, Honey76; her patience and guidance helped me to write a chapter that otherwise wouldn't have seen the light of day

Jhalya, Pink Dough … two brave reviewers left … thank you so much! It's all yours.

_**X**__**X.**_

_**3/3**_

… _**jungle once more …**_

"_What do you think you are doing here?"_

"_Putting my boots back on?" She smiled up to him._

"_Don't think so." He loomed over her, a feral glint in his eye, his lips curled in a predatory smile._

_Hope continued to lace up her boots._

"_Babe!" It nearly sounded like a warning but she pretended to not hear it. She grabbed her utility belt and hopped to her feet. "Come on, let's go back to the ship. It's been nice here but not that nice."_

_In a motion nearly too fast to see he had fisted his hand in her shirt and pulled her close. "Not that fast, Hope. We are not done yet."_

_Hope gave him her most innocent smile. "Well, __**I**__ am; I'm good to go."_

_He had pulled her close enough for her to feel his erection and as hard as she tried not to she couldn't help but rub herself against him; how could you not be aroused that close to the sexiest man in the whole universe? She really tried to keep that innocent look on her face but failed miserably; her tongue darted out on its own volition, licked across her bottom lip. Her heartbeat had quickened and she had problems to get enough air into her lungs; maybe the Oscar wouldn't go to her at all. "So what do you have in mind? Another exercise?" she tried to sound peeved._

_Riddick's hands trailed down her back and cupped her ass. "Indeed. On our way back I'll show you again how to really listen to the sounds around you, how to really see; you haven't exactly covered yourself with glory out there. One day it could save our life so you'd better learn it."_

'WHAT?' _That was so not the reaction she had anticipated._ 'That bastard!'_ She tried to step away from him but he was having none of it. So she just glared at him and fisted her hands, ready to punch him for his …_

"_But first you have to learn a much more important lesson … DON'T play with the beast until you are prepared to get ravened." His mouth crashed down on hers, his right hand was fisted in her hair and holding her in place, his tongue forced her mouth open, plundered it until her knees got weak._

"_Doff that shirt." The air suddenly became thick with tension._

_Her eyes met his gaze, she was aroused but for the first time a tad afraid of what she could see in his face. Her plan to tease him had backfired in a way she never would have thought of; this time she really had unleashed the beast and she wasn't entirely sure if she was able to handle it. Obviously she wasn't fast enough for his taste because the shiv was out of his belt, had cut her shirt open and was secured again before she was able to protest._

"_Boots." _

_This time she immediately bent down to unlace them and put them and her socks off; she felt a thrill of anticipation and was curious how far he would go, afraid and turned on at the same time. Her heart beat furiously and her breathing was ragged when she stared defiantly at him. She swallowed hard when he moved around and behind her with a very carnal grin on his face … it took all her will not to run. _

_His big hands nearly circled her waist when he pulled her closer and licked across the tattoo on her left shoulder blade and up to her neck. "Mmmh … arousal ..." he growled and then repeated the action on her other shoulder "… with a hint of fear … nothing tastes better." His voice was low and almost soft but she could clearly hear the steal behind it._

"_Pants."_

_She didn't even think about hesitation but her fingers nearly trembled too much to get the buttons of her cargos opened. It was his game now … of surrender and obedience and this time she was willing to obey. Another deep growl in Riddick's chest proved his impatience, reverberated through her upper body._

_For a second his thumbs massaged her sweet spot, making her gasp. "I won't say it twice."_

_She tried to shove them over her hips but he stopped her motion. "I want you to do it just as before." His right hand never left her hip when she bent down, her heart hammering in her chest, her knees short of giving in. Riddick's left hand traveled up her spine, sending uncontrollable shivers through her until he reached her neck, grabbing it in a tight grip. He ripped off her panties in an impatient move._

"_Riddick …"_

"_What?"_

"_Don't …"_

"_Don't what?"_

_She wanted to beg him to stop and at the same time she wanted to cry for more but wasn't able to get out a single word. She was surprised that the hand in her neck didn't frighten her, instead it aroused her even more; her whole body was burning with need._

_He watched her for a moment; she was still bent forward, her butt pressing into his groin. He wouldn't only have her … he wouldn't stop fucking her until the beast in him was convinced that he didn't only own her body and heart but her mind and soul … he had to satisfy the beast._

_He reached over his shoulder and slipped off his shirt, he didn't bother with stripping his trousers, he just freed his cock from his confinements._

_His hand circled her waist, reached down and found her dripping wet for him._ 'Better be.'_ With a self-satisfied groan he buried himself in her. He knew what she'd had in mind when she pulled off that show but not with him. She knew perfectly well about his impatience when he was horny; he had shred more than one of her shirts on that account. Had she really thought he'd just let it slide, walk back to the ship with a pair of blue balls the size of water melons? He would show her to tease him like that. He was beyond holding back; her show had let something snap in him …_

_Riddick was big but now he seemed to be even bigger, he filled her to repletion, stretched her to the boundaries of pleasure and pain; she knew he was still holding back, but she also knew he wouldn't for very much longer._

_Fuck, without anything to hold on she wasn't tall enough for what he had in his mind ... but he would hold that thought. He dropped down on one knee and took her with him, never pulling out; it would be much better without having to lift her up the whole time._

_He watched himself gliding in and out of her; a sight he would have loved to see without his goggles. He wouldn't have thought it possible but having her in front of him on her knees, watching himself taking her like that made him even harder. _

_For a split second he asked himself if she would be able to put up with him, was afraid to hurt her, but he had told her to be careful with him, to not unleash the beast. He had warned her but did she listen? She still didn't believe in his inner beast, didn't fear it like she should._

_For the first time he gave in, didn't hold back, buried himself to the hilt in her. Holding his movement for a moment he savored the feeling to be that deep inside her just as much as her__ crying out in pleasure__. Perfect. She was perfect. His hand was still wrapped around her neck when he started to pound into her, that hard and fast he had to hold her to not push her across the whole plateau._

_Pure animalistic desire ruled the two of them, her cries of pleasure mingled with his groans. The sounds of the planet seemed to have ceased to be replaced by the sounds of a pair of animals, superior to all of them down there. _

_It was an incredible feeling to be that deep inside her, to be completely enveloped by her but it still wasn't enough … he had to have her wrapped around him, to see the expression in her eyes. __In a quick motion he pulled out of her, had her flipped around and was in her again, pinning her under him before she was able to protest._

_His hands held her shoulders from behind, bent her back to get a full sight of her gorgeous body. She__ was bathed in the golden glow of the sunset in his back, seemed to glow herself. _

_It was dark enough now to remove his goggles and an impatient movement threw them to the ground. He drank in her sight … h__er skin glistened, was covered by a thin sheet of sweat, her face was flushed, her eyes closed, her chest heaved fast in accordance to her ragged breathing, her stomach was flat, defined by well trained muscles and her breasts … perfect in size, erect nipples crowning them. His tongue darted out, tasted the skin between her breasts, licking up the tiny drops of sweat pooling there. __Her head fell back, exposing her gorge to his mouth, his teeth and he took advantage;__ he licked across her throat, sucked at the tender flesh just beneath it before turning his attention to her breasts, biting down not too gently on her nipples and making her arch against him and moan with desire._

_His grip on her waist tightened, leaving marks on her soft skin._

_He sucked her tongue into his mouth, took possession of it as he took possession of the rest of her, his teeth split her bottom lip but she didn't even flinch, she returned his kiss feverishly. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, pulling him even deeper inside her, her nails left deep half-moons on his skin, her hands kneaded the corded muscles on his back and she was meeting his strokes with hunger._

_She heard his voice but wasn't able to focus long enough on it, too lost in the sensation to concentrate long enough to understand the words he was saying, her whole world was reduced to his cock gliding in and out of her, fucking her senseless._

"_Open your eyes. Now. I want to see your eyes." he demanded again. She finally understood his words; she didn't want to, wanted to savor the feeling he created without letting the world in, but he insisted, didn't stop to, and you don't deny Riddick anything. She didn't. Wouldn't. Ever. _

_His eyes met hers ... looked straight into her core … bared her soul to him._

_What she could see in his eyes, the swirling emotions and the final deep thrust sent her into oblivion, the climax rolling in waves through her, shattering her into a million of pieces and making her whole again._

_He followed her closely, came with a roar, her name on his lips; the beast had claimed its mate, had found its match in her and finally sated gave in, stepped back and let him take control again. _

_He scooped her up to him until she sat on his lap, straddling him, his cock still buried deep inside her. His breathing as ragged as hers he leaned his forehead against hers. "Babe, are you OK?" His lips brushed over the outer rim of her ear. "Hurt much?" Her smile was very content when she answered him, nearly purring the words._ _"Do I look hurt?" she whispered_ _"I really like it when you let cave man out to play once in a while."_

_With a relieved sigh he buried her face in his neck, hugging her tightly, his hand running slow, soothing circles on her back. They sat there like that for what seemed an eternity until her trembling stopped and she nearly fell asleep._

"_Babe, we need to go." Hope rubbed her nose in the crook of his neck and made that small contented sound he loved so much. That and a sleepy 'mhm' was all he got as reaction. "Hope" he ran his knuckles down her jaw and lifted her face to his "we can't stay like that the whole night. Wake up, babe."_

_His kiss was tender, his lips soft on hers when he parted them with his tongue, let it slide into her mouth. Their tongues danced with each other … there was no need any more to duel for dominance. _


	21. Chapter 21

**XXI****.**

Hope was still about two weeks away from Borean and her brother when Riddick arrived at Furya, the edges in his face sharper, the lines around his eyes deep from lack of sleep and too much worry. He still wasn't able to hail them when he already was in sight of the planet and the things he envisioned that could have happened to the people on the planet grew worse by the minute.

He was more than relieved when he saw Laney on the side of the landing field, obviously unharmed. He saw Tyr, Carlos and a few others arrive while landing the ship on the otherwise completely deserted landing field but the person he craved to see didn't appear. _Could she still be that angry?_

He stormed out of the open hatch and knew instantly that she wasn't on the planet; he would have felt her if she'd be near.

Laney was going to approach him when she saw Riddick storming out of the ship but the expression on his face let her stop dead in her tracks. She couldn't see his eyes but he radiated that much anger she couldn't suppress a shudder.

"Where is she?" He didn't waste any time with pleasantries.

Laney swallowed hard; she tried not to be afraid but failed poorly. "She is on her way to Borean. Aereon has found her brother and since you wouldn't talk to her she left on her own."

Riddick stood six inches away from her, his jaw clenched and his hands fisted; he had a hard time not to close them around her neck and throttle her.

"Run that again by me! What do you mean by 'on her own'? How could you let her leave without backup? And all the more knowing that there is at least one traitor wanting our heads? And what the fuck do you mean with 'I wouldn't talk to her'. She didn't even try to hail!"

"You know how she is; you can't stop her when she has made up her mind. And apart from that it is not ours to tell her what to do." She answered a bit stiff, mustering all the courage she could find in her.

"Bullshit!" He wasn't just angry, he was furious by now.

Riddick was frightening her and it cost her to speak up but he had to know and so Kerry stepped forward. "I stood behind her when she tried to hail you; the computer announced that the call got through but you would refuse to take it."

He knew she wasn't lying to him; she was too afraid of him and aside from that he would have smelled a lie but something didn't make any sense here … he never would have refused to talk to her.

"Kerry, run a full scan of the com station, somebody has tinkered with it. Laney, Tyr, Carlos, with me."

They settled down in Hope's work room they also used as a kind of head quarters. "17 year old boy, thin, curly hair, works in the fields, supposed to life in a ship I didn't see when I landed. Who and where is he?"

The three across the table looked at each other … he had exactly described George.

Laney cleared her throat before she started to speak; the horror about George's gruesome death was still written all over her face.

"You mean George. He is dead. The hounds killed him before he was able to hurt anybody." She told him the whole story about George, his uncle, his giving himself away, Aereon's visit and Hope's departure on George's ship and everything in between.

A deep silence fell over the four people after she had finished her story.

Riddick was the first to speak again "How did she cope with all that shit? Aereon's lucky that she already left the planet; should have thrown that old bat out of the airlock right after picking her up at Rain3." (**)

Laney sighed deeply; she hadn't yet told him about Aereon's foretelling. "If you want to know if she's still mad with you then the answer is 'no' but when she thought you'd refuse to talk to her she didn't take it well; she didn't even get angry and she asked Kerry not to talk about it but, ..."

Kerry chose exactly that moment to storm into the room, she was completely upset. "George had implanted a virus into the system! We would have never found it if we hadn't especially looked for it. We've been able to hail everybody and get hailed by everybody except of the Defiant. The Defiant got the 'transmission not possible' message und when we tried to hail the Defiant the 'refuses to take message' popped up on the screen while the hail never left Furya. That little bastard really deserved his death for all the hurt he had caused!"

"Kerry!" Laney reprimanded her "Nobody deserves to die like that!" and then turned to Riddick. "There is another thing I have to tell you."

Riddick listened to her explanations and felt anger rising in him with every word. How dare that damn Elemental tell Hope this bullshit? Not that he gave a damned about it but he could easily imagine how Hope must have felt hearing of her own death, foretold by a so called friend. Riddick didn't believe a word, there was no way he was going to let that happen! Hope was his and he would revolt against fate if necessary ... he was not going to have this! Never! Thinking about the Elemental and her ways to see the future his anger started to bolt.

He wouldn't only throw her out of the airlock … that would be way too kind; he would throw her out piece by fucking piece. How dare she say that Hope would die? She was supposed to live, to be with him. Losing her was quite simply unacceptable.

If he wouldn't know Hope well enough to be certain that they'd have had to cuff her to her workbench to stop her from leaving he would have taught them a lesson they'd never forget in their whole life.

"We can reach her on George's ship. Hail her, now. I want to speak to her."

Laney exchanged a glance with Kerry and sighed deeply; everything that could have gone wrong for the two of them in the last weeks actually did go wrong. "Riddick, I'm so sorry; we've talked to her the day before yesterday. She went into cryo sleep afterwards. We can't talk to her until she reaches Borean."

"Fuck!" he jumped up, the chair toppling over behind him. "What did she say, how is she?"

Laney hurried to answer and to remember each word they had spoken during that call.

Riddick paced back and forth. "Did you make sure that George wasn't able to send a message to anybody before he died? Did you make sure she's save at Borean, that she doesn't get greeted by mercs there, that it's not another set up?" He could read in their faces that they hadn't. "Fuck you! Damn stupid idiots! That's unbelievable!" Riddick's fist crashed into the wall, breaking quite a dent into it; he really would have loved to cool off his anger with one of them but there was no time for that. At least not now.

"Laney, I need all the data she has got from Aereon. If there isn't anything else I'll leave in 20. And better pray that she's fine. I won't forget and I won't forgive such stupidity." Not even when Hope was as much responsible as the others; at least Tyr and Carlos should have known better.

In fact he left exactly 18 minutes later. The Defiant would have to show again what she was capable of; he had calculated the time he would need to reach Borean but even at the highest possible speed he would need about 17 days.

Damn; again he was hurrying after her. Why on Furya hadn't she waited for him? Stubborn, stupid woman. He only could hope that she hadn't gotten herself into trouble.

He was known for his patience, in fact he had patience in spades but that woman had a talent to get to him, those past six weeks had gotten even him to his boundaries. And now another 17 days to pass. 17 days not knowing how she was, if she was safe, another 17 days in which she was thinking he had refused to talk to her.

If somebody would have told him that someday he would be chasing after a woman he would have laughed his ass off. And maybe killed the fuck for insulting him. But now he did exactly that and that little voice in his head that had been so quiet for so long started to nag him again. '_Is she worth all that trouble? Think about it, man!' _

He had done a lot of thinking in the last weeks. To pass time, to distract himself from the horrible scenarios his mind made up that could have happened. He thought about the time he had spent with her. A wonderful time; in fact the best time in his whole life. It's been a time full of first; their first kiss … his face softened at that thought; the first time he had buried himself inside her, had lost and found himself in her eyes; the thought of their first fight made him grin … she was such a hotspur; the first time she had to face his beast, had unleashed it herself and then shown him that she wasn't just able to cope with it, no, she enjoyed it, welcomed it. He had wanted to show her how much she was his, how much he was in control and it had taken him quite a while to realize that he belonged as much to her, that they were nothing but equal.

His smile got more than smug when he thought of the first and surprisingly only time he had tied her to their bed … he definitely should do that again …

_She was pacing __back and forth in front of him, wildly gesticulating with her arms. She had learned that her former colleague, Carl, had passed one of her inventions as his and she was furious. He had let her ramble for a while to get off steam but when she wouldn't stop he told her to. "Stop it. It won't change anything when you continue to lament about it and I hate that pacing in front of me. The ship is not big enough for crap like that!"_

_Hope glared at him for a moment. "Oh yes, Mr. nothing faces me would not be angry! Mr. oh so calm would just swallow it! I'm not you, Mister!"_

_He had left the cockpit then without a word and had gone to their room; there was no arguing with her when she was in that mood. It didn't take long until she followed him._

"_Babe, I did warn you; I won't listen anymore if you don't stop pacing." She stopped for a whole minute but wasn't able to stand still for a second longer._

_Riddick heaved a sigh. "Babe, you wanna go to the gym?"_

"_Fuck, no! I'm angry, I don't want to tussle. I can't see how this possibly could help me!"_

_When the__ thought first occurred it was just a possibility to hold her still, to stop her from that damn pacing but on second thought … that thought was capable of development … He had his belt out of his trousers, had her pushed flat on the bed and her hands bind together behind the bed before she was able to get enough air into her lungs to protest. She wriggled on the bed and spit fire and looked so damn gorgeous that he instantly got a hard on that nearly burst his trousers. "I told you to stop it but you wouldn't listen, now would you, babe? I think you need a little lesson in following orders. And if you don't stop yelling I'll have you gagged too." He would get her mind completely off that Carl._

_She stared at him with half closed eyes, her brows furrowed. "You wouldn't dare! And now release me!" she hissed out between clenched teeth._

_A big mischievous grin split his face. "Watch me" and he continued __to unlace her boot. When she started to kick at him with her other leg he trapped it between his thighs and immobilized her effectively … she was so damn hot trying to get herself out of his grip and the hold of his belt. Her sock followed her boot to the floor and for a second he was caught off guard at the thought what he would do with her; she had held still for a second but when she sensed his absent-mindedness she kicked again with all she had in her and that was quite a lot since he trained her. She even nearly got him to stagger._

"_Babe, I'll have to punish you for that." He grinned and bit down on her toe. Her surprised and angry cry turned into a moan when he immediately licked across the bite mark to sooth the sting. She was aroused by now and his hand slid up her leg and massaged her calve. "Now will you behave? First you will tell me what you want right now."_

"_I hate it when you make me do that and you fucking know it!"_

"_See, you are already starting to use the right words." he teased her "All I know is that it turns you on, you just don't want to admit it."_

_He sucked her toe into his mouth and nibbled on it, immediately stopping when he saw her shiver and licking her lips. "Did you like that? Good for you because you won't get any more until you tell me what you want. And I won't sit here all evening until you decide if you wanna get fucked or not. Come on, it can't be that difficult. See, I'll make it easy on you, just repeat my words 'I want you to …'" his voice was a seductive deep, dark growl he knew she loved and made her wet each time. _

_But she still just bit her bottom lip and glared at him. He knew he would make her do exactly what he told her to but it would take some further persuasion ... stupid obstructions she still had. _

_He put off her other boot and sock, closely followed by her trousers and let his fingertip trail from her ankle up to her center in a feather light touch. Her breathing became ragged and she lifted her hips to get nearer to his finger. He knew perfectly well what she wanted him to do but he would deny it to her until she did what he told her. "Babe …" He could see the internal fight in her eyes, he had her nearly there._

"_Babe, I want you to spread your legs for me." His mouth watered__ … he could see her arousal, smell it and damn did she smell good; he could not wait to taste her, to lick across her already wet folds, to suck her clit into his mouth. _

_Slowly, ever so slowly she parted her legs, spread them for him. Her eyes met his gaze, she was completely captivated into his spell. "Riddick" whispered low enough nobody else than Riddick would be able to hear her words._

"_Yes?" And he could see the surrender in her eyes._

"_I want to feel your hands on me, your mouth, I want you to kiss the living daylight out of me, want you to part my folds, want you to plunge a finger inside me while your tongue is playing with my clit until I come and then I want to feel you inside me, want you to fuck me until I scream your name. Was that what you wanted to hear? Satisfied?"_

_He knew what it had cost her to say it, but he also saw the pulse beating furiously on her neck, see her flushed cheeks, hear the blood singing in her veins, calling him … she was more aroused than angry._

_Her words made him shiver and his beast inside purred with satisfaction. But what really got to him was the way she trusted him to tell him all that. To give in and allow him to set the pace._

"_Not yet, babe, but soon. And you will be too." And he even tried to suppress that smug smile that wanted to creep over his face._

_He removed the belt from her hands as soon as she caved in; he liked her hands on him too much to refuse himself of that pleasure. The ship night faded into a ship morning until Hope curled up to Riddick, his arms around her holding her in a tight embrace, a very satisfied smile on their faces. Her body fit so perfect into his. Hope was nearly asleep, when his voice pulled her back._

"_Shall I kill him for you?"_

_Hope raised her head to look into his eyes … he was absolutely serious. It touched her. Despite what everybody else thought he didn't like killing. He did it without any remorse but just out of necessity, to survive, to protect. Yes, maybe a few times out of revenge and with gusto but still ... he wasn't a mindless killer. But he'd kill for her._

_She kissed him and then shook her head "No, not worth the effort; warp is about forming a subspace bubble enveloping the ship and distorting the spacetime continuum and Carl isn't even able to write 'subspace bubble' or 'spacetime continuum'. He'll kill himself with his experiments." She laid her head back on his chest, her fingertips caressed his pecks. "Riddick …"_

"_Mhm?"_

"_Riddick, I … thank you." ……_

And now it was a first again. For the first time he had a very bad feeling. He still didn't give a damn about Aereon's foretelling but deep inside he had that bad, bad feeling; his guts were twisted into knots when he thought of her being alone on that planet without back up and not knowing if George had been able to send a last message.

Riddick sighed deeply, his hand rubbed over the fast growing stubble on his skull; he'd have to shave it soon. He tried to hail her knowing that it would be futile but not able to resist; she would be in cryo sleep for at least another one and a half weeks. He hadn't worried that much in his whole live.

_(**) chapter XXVI of __'Defiant'_


	22. Chapter 22

**XX****II.**

When the proximity alarm sounded through the ship Hope awoke as exhausted as she was when she went into cryo sleep … cryo sleep did absolutely nothing for her recreation. Never again. She'd had a lot of weird dreams about a woman she didn't recognize warning her, Aereon ordering her to do something in time and Riddick walking away from her and never turning back. She definitely would give up space travel until she had another ship with warp drive.

"Here is space traffic control of Borean. You are approaching our planet. Please identify yourself."

"Here is space ship 'Chloe', ID 379421, Captain Huntington; I'm asking for permission to land." Changing name and ID code of the ship had been the first thing she did after leaving Furya.

"How many people are on board and what's the purpose of your visit?"

"It's just me and I'm here for some holidays; I need some fresh air and a planet beneath my feet before I get space sick." A blinking sign on the helm showed her that they were scanning the ship and after a minute of silence the polite voice spoke again.

"Request granted. You have permission to land at section X73, landing field C. The docking fee has to get paid at once at the automat in the main building. We've transmitted the coordinates that will lead you to your docking place; you have to follow them most accurately. Confirm as soon as you get the data. Have a nice stay on Borean."

"Yes, copy that. Thank you."

Hope was relieved when the hatch finally opened in front of her. A warm sun, fresh air and the inviting sounds of a well kept space port greeted her. It took a while until she had complied with the formalities but Hope didn't mind. All of a sudden she was pretty nervous about meeting her brother and his family. What if he didn't like her? What should she say to him? _'Hi, I'm your long lost sister, abandon everything and follow me to Furya!'_ Not likely. How much would he know about his heritage? About her? If anything at all.

She chuckled lightly … Riddick would have said something like _'Too much brain, babe. Just follow your instincts and go with the flow.' _And that indeed was good advice.

She bought a map and after finding out where his house was situated she strolled through the streets of the town, heading in the right direction but not eager to arrive too fast at Taylor's.

She found Taylor's home in a quiet part of the city. Neatly kept gardens surrounding beautiful big houses; Taylor seemed to do pretty good. She had to draw a deep breath before she was able to ring the doorbell and wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed when nobody answered it. There was a big park across the street with a lot of inviting benches under big shady trees and so she sat down on one of them, the house in perfect sight and waited for him to come home. Hours went by until a vehicle stopped in front of the house. A tall, elderly man, a young woman and two kids exited it. The man wasn't Taylor but seemed to be a relative and not a driver given the way he swung the little girl around and then carried her on his shoulders into the house. Hope decided to wait for Taylor.

It was dark until a man with familiar features approached the house; she could see him clearly in the light of the lanterns … Taylor. To her surprise he stopped for a second before entering the house, gazing into her direction. She knew it was too dark under the tree to get seen by him … no, nothing but coincidence. Also Taylor was at home now she was like glued to that bench she was sitting on. She stared at the house, thinking of words she would say and discarding them again. From time to time she could see her brother looking out of the window. Did he sense her? She stood up when the door got opened. Taylor appeared in the light filled gap, peering again into her direction before making a beeline for her. What had seemed so difficult a moment ago was like a force now; her feet started to move automatically.

Finally standing face to face they stared at each other for minutes, taking in the sight of each other before Taylor broke the spell "Who are you? Are you … ? You are, aren't you?"

Tears were prickling in Hope's eyes, she wasn't able to get out a single word and so she just nodded and before she knew what was happening she nearly got squished in a tight embrace. None of them spoke, there were way too many emotions they had to deal with and so they just stood there relishing the feeling to finally have found each other.

A female voice finally put them out of their lightheadedness. "Taylor!! Should I worry about my husband embracing another woman in front of our house?"

Taylor hadn't released Hope completely, his arm was still wrapped around her shoulders. "Serenity, that's my sister! She's finally here, she's found us. That's Hope!"

Hope extended her hand to the baffled woman "Hi! I'm so sorry causing troubles. I've been looking for almost a year for you, since Aereon told me about Taylor's existence and all of a sudden I was afraid to knock and ..." She knew she was babbling and then she ran completely out of words.

The woman took Hope's hand hesitantly. She gave her an inquisitive stare before her face lit up in a smile. "**I**'m sorry; I should have seen the family likeness, but it's so dark out here. Now come in, what are we still doing outside?" She tugged at Hope's hand and in the blink of an eye she sat in a very homey kitchen. "Dinner is ready in then minutes. … Julie, Dylan, come down, we have a guest!"

It was apparent that Serenity was responsible for the talking in that family; as Taylor was tall, dark and calm Serenity was small, fair and lively.

A minute later she heard feet patter downstairs and the kids she had seen earlier stormed inside. Both of them had the same eyes like hers and Taylor's and by the looks of it they were twins too. "Julie, Dylan, I want you to meet your Aunt Hope."

Hope was a bit overwhelmed with all the hugs and questions that got shot at her. "Now, now, kids, leave your aunt some space to breath." A deep baritone resounded from the door. A tall man with enough likeness to Taylor to assure her that he also was family had watched the scene with a happy smile. "They have heard stories about their missing aunt since they were borne. They made up stories about your adventures themselves and with each year you and the stories got more dauntless. You are their hero."

The man had approached her slowly and took now her hand in his. "I'm your Uncle Geoffrey, but please call me Jeff like they all do. Your mother was my sister. We didn't know where Aereon had taken you or we would have looked for you. Didn't you know anything about us?"

Hope shook her head. "About a year ago we met that Elemental…" and she started to tell them about her life on Aurelius, how they kept her believing that she was a native there, about her studies, her work, Aereon and Furya. And she told them about Riddick although they got the short and sugarcoated version of the story; if they'd decide to come with her there was time enough to go into detail. She got pelt with questions about Furya, the other Furyans and her adventures until it was bedtime for the twins and then the adults sat down in the living room and it was Hope's turn to ask questions. She wanted to know everything about her parents and everything else and it got 3 o'clock in the morning when they decided to call it a day.

She learned that Taylor was a chemist with engineering as his favorite hobby. Serenity was a gifted surgeon and Jeff biologist. They had always known about her from him; he had been there when her mother gave birth to them and when Aereon appeared, telling them about the threat and convincing them to leave Hope to her and save her life thereby.

Hope was surprised that Taylor and Serenity knew nothing about their heritage but Jeff had the explanation thereto: "I had to swear to keep it a secret. She told me that the life of my family depends on my discretion, that everybody in my family would die if the secret was revealed too soon; that didn't leave me any options. In telling you about your sister I stretched it but I thought if something happened to me you'd look for her someday on your own."

She got just a few hours of finally peaceful sleep until the kids got her awake at 7 again. They continued to ask 1001 questions until Serenity put her foot down and ended the question-and-answer game. "Get ready for school now, she'll still be here when you return this afternoon."

After finishing breakfast they sat down on the porch. They had decided to take off some days; getting to know each other was the most important thing at the moment. They chatted for hours, shared childhood memories, talked about their lives, their jobs, and mused about Elementals in general and Aereon in particular. When they told her the stories the children had come up with about her adventures Hope was surprised how near some of them hit home.

Taylor finally asked the pivotal question. "Hope, would you mind telling us why Aereon had to separate you from us or is that still a secret?"

Hope sighed deeply. "I don't know everything myself. She told us about a 'menace' we'd have to fight 'one day' but not which and when; she told us we'd be important for the whole universe but not why and she made us look for all Furyans spread over the galaxy to reunite the race and to repopulate Furya." She had a close look at them before she continued. "Would you possibly consider coming with me?" she asked a bit uncertain.

Taylor and Serenity looked at each other, talking without words like only long married couples were able to.

Jeff however didn't need to think about it. "I can't speak for Taylor and Serenity but I'll come with you; nevertheless first I want to hear the whole story; I know you are holding back with something."

Taylor and Serenity seemed to have come to a decision too. "Hope, we have to think of our children. Can you assure us that it's safe for them on Furya? I don't want to be rude but you are so thin and pale, don't you have enough to eat on Furya?" Serenity was too much mom to not comment on Hope's condition.

"Furya is safe. As far as you can say that from a sparsely populated planet like ours. There are already children there, even a newborn baby. Everything is still very frugal and simple, but there is more than enough to eat there; my not so good condition is my own fault …. I was avoiding cryo sleep way too long and I really hate those space rations.

Uncle Jeff, you are right, there is something I didn't tell you. It wouldn't have mattered if you'd have decided to stay but you have to know before you pack up everything." And so she told them the whole story … about the bounty on her head and how it came about, Riddick and everything else.

They sat there in utter silence for a long time until Jeff cleared his throat. "Wow, what a story. You had to go through a lot of crap for fate. I didn't like that Elemental then and I definitely don't like her better now. I'm with you." He stood up and pulled her into a tight embrace. "You have to tell me what you need on Furya and I have to close business here. I have a ship and I'll be damned if I don't get it stuffed with all the things we could possibly need." He released her with a kiss on her forehead. "We've got a lot of things to do, let's get started."

Hope had an anxious look at her brother and her sister in law; they hadn't spoken a word since she had ended and she was afraid they had changed their minds. Serenity had tears in her eyes when she stood up. "I'm so sorry Hope. But from now on everything will get better; you have your family by your side now. Of course we are still with you." She and Taylor hugged her simultaneously.

"I'm quite curious about your Riddick; I know how company often works and have tried to avoid them my whole life. Did you ever think about cleaning his and your record?" Taylor's brows were furrowed, he was already thinking about hacking into court data.

Hope nodded. "Yes, but I don't have the equipment for a stunt like that; and apart from that it wouldn't do any good. Riddick is known across the whole universe. Maybe it would help if we'd fake his and my death."

They were interrupted by an incoming call Serenity took in the kitchen. She reappeared a moment later, white as a sheet and a horrified look in her eyes. "They have kidnapped Julie, they want to talk to you, Hope."


	23. Chapter 23

**XX****III.**

Hope didn't recognize the face on the screen but from his attitude she could tell it was a merc … seen one, seen 'em all. Out of the sight of the merc she connected her PADD to the com station and pushed a few buttons.

"What do you want merc? Ya know, your kind is getting somewhat annoying. Trying to imitate Johns, aren't you? How low can you go? Kidnapping a kid. Didn't Johns any good and won't do you either." she spit out. Mercs only understood one language and if they sensed any fear or uncertainty in her she'd already have lost.

"Well, you are in no position to threat us but we are willing to trade her in."

Hope had to give the program some time to do its job. "What could I possibly have that you'd be interested in?"

The merc gnashed his teeth "Stop it, bitch, or we'll send you a piece of that little girl to get you serious. We want you and Riddick, unarmed, hands already cuffed, at those coordinates. You have two hours. And don't try to fool us, I'm not stupid Simmons or dumb Jay."

Out from the corner of her eye she could see the 'task accomplished' sign blink on the PADD; she knew now where the mercs were. _'Stupid assholes!'_

"You can have me in two hours but not Riddick. He isn't even on the planet, knowing everything else you should know that too. It will take him at least three days to get here. That is if I can reach him."

The merc's smile was venomous. "Knew that. Just wanted to see if you are honest. George told us. Stupid boy but helpful. Don't know why Simmons put up with him. Two days. Better tell him to be quick, I'm not known for my patience. And again … no tricks or the girl will take the blame and it won't be pretty. Oh, and no authorities." That let him brake out in loud laughter. "Hell, now THAT was good! Authorities! Too bad you and your convict boyfriend can't call for help, isn't it?" He still snickered when he bent forward to disconnect.

"Wait, merc. I want prove that you have her and that she's alive and unharmed."

The merc paused for a moment and hit a button. "Already thought you'd want to know. Ok, here she is."

The view on the screen changed and showed Julie, tied up to a chair in the middle of what looked like a storage room full of crates and butts. The little program Hope had sent on its way resumed work and followed the signal of the camera facing Julie.

"I want to talk to her." Julie didn't seem hurt or frightened, instead she seemed to be angry Hope noted with a sigh of relieve.

"That's all you get. 2 days, then the kid is dead." And with that the merc closed the line.

Hope grinned grimly; she didn't only have the location of the mercs but much more importantly Julie's. She was looking up the coordinates when Taylor and Jeff stepped to her.

"Dylan came home. He told us that they had grabbed her after school on their way home. We have to inform the authorities. They'll deal with them."

"You can't; instead freeing Julie they'd only arrest me, tell you it's your own fault and file charges against you because you didn't turn me in. The mercs want Riddick and me and if I don't get Julie back until dawn I'll turn myself in and they'll let her go."

"What exactly are you intending to do?"

Hope sighed deeply. "Some of the stories the kids made up weren't so far out of reality. I already had a few confrontations with mercs. Riddick trained me; I'm not as good as he is, but then nobody is and so I'll be good enough to outmaneuver those thugs. I have their coordinates now and in a minute I'll know where Julie is. Trust me, please. I'll bring her back!"

Taylor and her uncle exchanged a glance. "I'm coming with you I won't let you deal with them on your own."

Hope shook her head reluctantly. "No, Taylor. Stay with your family. It took Riddick a year to train me for shit like that. But you can keep trying to hail him. Tell him what happened and ask him to come."

She had recorded the few the mercs had let her see from Julie and her surroundings and took in and memorized every little detail. The room was about 10x5 meters, looked like one of those standard for rent storage containers. She was able to read the inscription on the crates … they were full with spare parts of all sorts but she had problems to decipher the signs on the cans. It was a chemical substance but she could only read half of the notation printed on the front, directly above a red warning sign. 'C8H …' She wasn't a chemist and knew only the matters she used in her ship; she wasn't even able to guess what it could be … maybe Taylor knew. "Do you know what that chemical is?"

"Can't say it exactly without seeing the whole formula; something like brombenzylcyanid or ω-bromacetophenon or a similar substance. Or a derivative. Could be something completely different, more or less toxic than C8H6NBr or C8H7OBr. But what I can tell you is that all of those substances are highly toxic for your eyes. Get the hell Julie out of that room and be more than careful with those butts."

Hope was still silently cursing her luck when Serenity joined them. "Are you sure you are fit enough to bring my baby back?"

Serenity's question startled her. Hope knew what she was referring to ... she was too thin and still exhausted; 4 hours of good sleep and two meals weren't able to change that. Was she? She was already running on so much adrenaline that she felt capable of everything. And she didn't have to put up with the mercs, at least not with all of them. Yes, she was fit enough. A last fight and then she would get some rest. No, lots of rest.

"I'm fine, Serenity, I swear. They keep her in a storage room and stay themselves in a hotel. They'll only check on her once in a while; and if they have a guard on her it will be max one, they don't expect me to know where to find Julie and I have two days until they expect me to turn myself in. They think without Riddick here I'm not able to do anything that could harm them. I absolutely can deal with the situation. And there are still a few hours until it gets dark enough to go."

Serenity nodded. "You will eat now and then you will rest. And then you'll bring Julie home."

Hope turned to the three of them. "I'm so sorry for causing all that trouble. If I'd have suspected that something like that could happen I would have stayed away. I'll bring her back and then I'll deal with the mercs and make sure they'll stay away from you. They won't bother you anymore. I'll leave the planet immediately afterwards and you'll be safe again." And if 'deal with the mercs' meant that she had to hand herself over then be it; she had endangered her family and she would do everything in her power to get her niece home. "I'd love to turn back the clock but I can't, all I can do is ask you to forgive me."

Taylor took her shoulders and shook her. "Not that fast, Hope. We know it's not your fault and that you didn't intend to cause problems. I've found my sister after all those years and I won't let you turn yourself over or let you leave the planet without us. We'll think of something and deal with that as a family."

Hope was completely choked up. 'Family' She had no problems with leaving everybody behind when she left Aurelius and not a single day felt something like homesickness but it would be really hard for her to leave Taylor and his family and never see them again and though she had caused so much trouble they would stick by her.

She had forced herself to eat the meal Serenity had prepared and tried to get some rest but there was too much racing through her mind to relax and sleep. She was glad when the light faded and the shadows on the wall started to get long.

She had put on her clothes and checked everything she'd take with her a last time when Taylor handed her a headset.

"I've prepared them while you rested. Nobody will be able to follow our talk." Déjà vu. If the situation wouldn't have been that grave she would have laughed; Taylor really ticked the same way she did.

She reached the storage area right after dusk. A thorough scan had shown her that Julie indeed was alone there. She had given Taylor the codes to reach the Defiant although she hadn't any hope he would, but trying to hail Riddick would give them something to do; she knew out of own experience how hard it was to be confined to waiting.

"Taylor, I've found her. She's alone and I'm going in now. I turn the headset off until I'm out again so don't worry." What she didn't tell him was that she had readings about a bomb and didn't want the headset interfere with a possibly radio activated detonation.

The light of the street lanterns fell into the storage room and it was light enough too see everything pretty clear. Hope was so proud of her niece when she saw the little girl sitting there on that chair. She looked tired and exhausted but the strongest feeling she could sense was boredom. Julie's eyes lit up when she saw her aunt but she remained silent when she saw Hope pressing her index finger against her lips. She just nodded, watching narrowly Hopes movements.

Hope hadn't expected any hidden micros or another camera than the one she already knew about but as Riddick had taught her you can't be careful enough and so she ran another scan looking especially for hidden cams and micros but fortunately not finding anything else. She disabled the cam and knelt down in front of Julie, the tricorder running a scan of the thing beneath Julie's chair. "Hi, honey, how are you?"

"I'm fine now." the little girl whispered "but I want to go home. I'm hungry and I'm tired and I have to use the bathroom. And you can't imagine how rude they've been! They told me that I have to stay here until they get you and that they'll kill Mom and Dad and Dylan if I cry or scream." Now that an adult she trusted was in control of the situation she quickly started to lose her composure. Thick tears were streaming down her face. "I want to go home" she sobbed.

Hope hugged her tight but still didn't cut her restraints. "Honey, I know. You are so brave. Please be patient just one more minute. Tell me what else the men said."

Julie sniffled; she wanted to be a real Furyan kid like she had imagined all afternoon they would be; she just knew Furyans were brave and didn't cry like babies. "They laughed and said something about a firework and an explosive surprise but I don't know what they meant by that."

"It's OK, honey, my tricorder will know. See, it scans everything in here."

The tricorder confirmed Hope's worst fears … it was definitely a bomb Julie was sitting on and it would explode as soon as Julie got up. And although she was an engineer she had less to none clue how to deactivate that thing. She scanned it several times until she had kind of a diagram but it didn't help in the least; the readings didn't make any sense as long as there wasn't a second bomb but she could see none.

"Honey, can you please be patient for another few minutes? It will take some time to get your restraints open. Why don't you tell me something about you in the meantime? I want to know everything about my favorite niece. What's your favorite color?" Hope didn't intend to listen what Julie was telling her but she had to keep the kid calm to be able to concentrate. She looked around if she could find something to replace Julie's weight on the chair but didn't come up with anything. She tried to crack the code that would deactivate the bomb but failed coz she was too afraid to get the bomb to explode immediately if she made a mistake. Did she have time to call for help? She wouldn't even know whom. Riddick would know how to deactivate that little blighter; he had ranger training and despite that he was able to do absolutely everything.

She hadn't realized that Julie had stopped talking. "Aunt Hope, what's the matter? You are staring at your tricorder for an eternity now."

Hope gave her an encouraging smile and placed her headset in Julie's ear. There was only one way she could think of how to get Julie out of here.


	24. Chapter 24

**You have asked for it … :-)**

**XXIV.**

"Honey, listen closely now. I will cut your restraints now and you will get up immediately and run outside as fast as you can. We are in the cargo area near the space port; do you know where that is and how to get home?" Julie's nod was a relief and Hope continued. "All right, you will stay out of the lights and run as fast as you can. You will run for exactly 2 minutes and then you will use the headset and tell your dad where you are. Do you know how to activate it?" Another nod; good girl. "Julie, that's important! Did you understand everything?"

"Why don't you come with me?"

"I have to clean up a bit but I'll follow you in a minute. How much do you weigh?"

"67 pounds, why?"

"Just curious, Honey." She placed her tricorder on the chair … it would make sure that the pressure she applied on the chair was exact enough to make the bomb believe that Julie was still sitting on it. "Promise me to not look back and to not wait for me. I'm counting on you."

Julie nodded again. "Promise. Cross my heart and hope to die."

'_Wrong words, baby, wrong words.'_ But she smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm so proud of you Julie. All right now, when I say 'go' you'll glide from the chair and then do what I told you. Any questions? No? Then here we go … 3, 2, 1 GO!"

To Hope's relieve the bomb didn't detect the change and Julie went off in a tempo Hope wouldn't have thought the little girl was able to. With Julie off to safety she took another look at the bomb; she couldn't just stay there and wait for the mercs to come.

With her sonic driver she poked a bit in the bundle of wires. A little wire running to the black box with the green light on it caught her attention and she ran another scan. Kneeling in front of the chair, trying to apply exactly 67 pounds on it and poking in the innards of a bomb wasn't exactly a good idea and of course the inevitable happened … she had loosened the little wire and the box hidden behind the little black one light up. Numbers appeared, remained for a second and then a countdown started.

5 minutes.

4 minutes 59 seconds.

4.58

4.57

Damn! That mercs had been smarter than she would have thought. It has been a mistake to underestimate them, but no time to cry over spilled milk … time was of essence and she still didn't know how to deactivate that thing.

4 minutes.

Julie was safe by now. Had to be. Sweat was tickling down her spine and her hands were moist but they didn't tremble at all.

3 minutes

She had another look at the result of the scans. She wouldn't be able to stop the countdown but if she was able to deactivate the main bomb she could run.

2 minutes

left of her life. She didn't want to die. Not now. Not that way. Who would tell Riddick? Riddick ... _Concentrate!_ His eyes. His smile. His voice. _CONCENTRATE!_ She missed him so much.

1 minute

Her heart beat that loud she was able to hear it in the absolute silence of the room, all her senses seemed to be sharpened. She had narrowed down the possibilities to three wires. Which one? She breathed heavily, her lungs seemed to try to pump as much oxygen into her lungs as possible in that last minute.

50 seconds

_Pick one, it doesn't matter anymore._Her best guess would have to do.

45 seconds

A drop of sweat pearled down her brow, shattered on her lashes. _Just blink it away._

40 seconds

Left one … green light … going dark … _YES!_

35 seconds

She tried to swallow, couldn't, her mouth too dry. _RUN!_

30 seconds

She had to force her legs to work … the kneeling had cut off the blood supply. _DAMNIT_ _RUN!_ She stumbled in front of the door, grabbed the handle and steadied herself again.

25 seconds

Door. Open it!

20 seconds

Feet pounding on the concrete. _Reach the containers, there is safety behind!_

15 seconds

Her furious heartbeat singing in her ears. _FASTER!_

10 seconds

Half of the distance covered.

5 seconds

So near … _Don't look back!_

4 seconds

_PLEASE!_

3 seconds

_I still __can make it!_

2 seconds

_Almost there …_

1 second

_RIDDICK!_

A heartbeat later all hell broke loose. The bomb exploded, spare parts, glass and parts of the building got shot in all directions, the fog of the chemical spread over the whole place. The shock wave captured Hope and carried her the last meters to the container, smashed her against it. Her shoulder dislocated, bones broke. Debris and splinters penetrated her back, ribs cracked, punctured her lung, inner organs got ruptured by the force of the impact. One of the spare part crashed into her back, bruised her kidneys.

The following crash to the ground got her head smashed to an edge, blood seeped out of the gash. Lots of.

Strange feeling. It was as if she watched herself from outside … she seemed to stand on the sideline to watch her own death. She didn't feel the hurt. Not yet. Did that really happen to her? She could feel the blood from the head wound pooling under her, warm and sticky, could feel the blood trickling out of her nose and the corner of her mouth, running across her jaw and down her neck, joining the fast growing pool of blood underneath her.

The still hazardous fog of the chemical silently fell down to the ground, covered her body in a thin sheet of wetness, almost cool and soothing on her burning hot skin but merciless starting to destroy her retina, taking her eyesight and after another minute losing its toxicity by being exposed to the air.

She could hear everything as if through deep water … damaged eardrums. She felt completely calm, had finally accepted her faith. She was so tired; there was no strength left, all she wanted was to finally give in, stop fighting. And then the pain set in. Unbelievable, hot, searing pain. She wanted to cry out but no sound came over her dry lips, her gorge too raspy, seared by the acrid smoke. She thought she'd hear sirens. A voice. Sounding like Riddick's. Wishful thinking. Her vision went gray around the edges, she started to drift away. Agony. And then blissful nothing.


	25. Chapter 25

**XXV.**

Riddick hadn't been able to hail her and was more than surprised when he got hailed by a man introducing himself as Taylor. He used Hope's ID code and bore enough family resemblance to prove his words right. Riddick could see grieve in the man's eyes, tension and anxiety and he knew instantly that something was wrong. Badly wrong.

Taylor had been a bit too vague with his answers, had refused to talk about what had happened over the com and he himself had been very vague with his time of arrival; they would not expect him within the next 12 hours. He approached them really carefully, scanned the whole area first, had a close look at the park and the surrounding houses for any signs of betrayal; no need to rush it, half an hour more or less wouldn't make any difference, now would it?

He entered the house through a window on the 2nd floor and listened closely to the voices downstairs. He stopped outside the living room, listening and waiting. Four people sat across a dining room table, an elderly man, a younger one, a woman with a child on her lap.

The woman sobbed, the younger man had his arm around her and tried to sooth her.

"I don't understand why she turned off the headset. Wouldn't it be safer to stay in contact?"

"Not necessarily; it could blow her cover when we start talking in the wrong moment."

"But we would not do that. I want to know how my baby is."

"You've heard her, Julie is doing fine. We'll hear from her when she's ready to talk. I wonder when Riddick arrives. He won't be pleased hearing what happened." Taylor tried to take her mind for at least a second away from Julie.

"You trust her as if you'd know her for more than only one day ... what if she wasn't honest with us? And I just don't care if Riddick isn't pleased with the situation here … do you think I am? It's not our fault Julie got kidnapped and it was Hope's decision to go alone … you offered to go with her. She's a very strong-willed and assertive person, she wouldn't have changed her mind; he should know that."

"I shouldn't have caved in that fast, should have tried harder. And I just know that I can trust her. Do you remember asking me yesterday why I was so antsy and wouldn't stop looking out of the window? I sensed her from the moment I came home. I knew that she was out there. And I'd know it if she wasn't honest."

"I hope you are right. It's the life of our child that's at stake here."

"I know; and I am, baby. She'll bring her back. But strong-willed or not … I won't let her go after the mercs on her own. If Riddick doesn't arrive on time I'll go with her to get rid of them."

"You mean ..."

"Serenity, she is right. If the mercs live to tell we'll never have peace again. And they have threatened my family; I won't let them get away with that."

Serenity looked in shock at her husband; she saw a side on him she didn't know yet.

"Baby, don't look at me like that. Think it over and you'll agree with me."

Jeff hadn't said a single word during the whole discussion but now he laid his hand on Serenity's shoulder. "Seri, he is right. As soon as Julie is back you should start packing. In fact it would be a good idea if you'd start right now. Let Dylan help you, it will distract the both of you. We'll leave as soon as the problem with the mercs is solved. Riddick should be here in a couple of hours."

Serenity remained sitting on the couch … she didn't want to get distracted, she wanted her baby back.

"Yeah, wonder what he's like; Hope has a strong believe in him." Despite the situation he had to grin. "Who would have thought that my sister is not only an alpha of a long-forgotten race but in love with a convict and on the run herself; can you imagine that? Kinda funny, isn't it?"

At that point Riddick had heard enough to be certain of the intentions of the people and choose to enter the living room.

"I assure you it's anything but funny to be in love with me." he growled low.

The three of them jumped up and stared at Riddick; they hadn't heard him approach until he spoke.

Taylor composed himself first. "But she loves you so there must be more about you than your rep sheet shows. And I didn't mean it that way."

Riddick just nodded; his relationship with Hope wasn't to discuss. "I assume she told you everything about me? Good. Now tell me what happened." he ordered.

And like all the other Furyans Riddick and Hope had met on their way they bent to Riddick's authority, his being a convict didn't matter, they accepted him as their alpha and obeyed …. ten minutes later he was filled in everything Taylor and his family knew.

"Since we can't talk to her right now I'll check on her before I get rid of that mercs. No need to accompany me. Hope and I leave immediately afterwards so if you want to join us you'll have to be prepared."

Jeff wordlessly handed Riddick a flexi with the coordinates and everything Hope had recorded. It didn't take Riddick long to look through everything and after accepting a headset from Taylor he went off, leaving them even more confused; he was not one bit like they had envisioned him.

The knots in Riddick's guts got tighter each passing minute as he hurried to the cargo area and he had nearly reached his destiny when he heard a kid over the headset. _The kid?_

"Dad, I'm out! Hope told me to talk to you after 2 minutes and to tell you where I am."

Riddick was glad the kid was out but where the hell was Hope? Why had Hope given her the headset? Why was the girl all on her own?

Taylor's voice clearly showed his relieve and his worry. "Julie, I'm with you in a minute! Stay hidden. Where is your aunt? Why did she let you go on your own?"

Riddick could hear a silent sob from the girl … "I don't know. She said she had to clean up. She didn't make any mess so why does she have to clean up? And I don't understand why she asked me about my weight."

_Clean up? Weight? What the … FUCK!_ He instantly knew what that meant and although it seemed impossible he ran even faster.

And then he had that feeling again. It felt like a fist squishing his heart, a knife getting twisted in his guts as a yet unknown fear tried to creep up and he nearly was unable to fight it down. But fear wouldn't help her now, she needed him calm, on top, alert.

He could already see the building and when he closed the last distance the door got yanked open and Hope stormed out. She ran that fast she nearly flew across the concrete, headed for one of the larger containers. He was still so far away from her. He changed direction, watched her while running across the flat tops of the storage containers.

'_Don't look back, babe, run!'_

And then the bomb exploded; he could see the shockwave grab her and smash her against the container, saw the piece of chunk hit her back and then the ridge of the shockwave reached him and in his struggle to stay upright he lost sight of her for a moment. He resumed running the second he had steadied himself again, he had to reach her; he knew that everything would be all right as soon as he reached her.

He kneeled down beside her mere minutes later and nearly choked at her sight. She looked like each bone in her body got smashed, she had countless smaller injuries, a shoulder was dislocated and she had a profoundly bleeding head wound; there was so much blood pooling underneath her he had doubts there was any left in her.

Surprisingly she had her eyes open … he could see her blinking. She seemed to try to say something but he couldn't hear a single word coming out of her mouth. But he was with her now, he would make her better. Had to.

"BABE!"

He tried to get her attention but she kept staring up in the sky as her lips soundlessly formed a word … his name.

"Babe, I'm here!"

And then she closed her eyes, he saw the reflexive shudder of her muscles, saw her body going limp and his heart stopped beating.

"NO!!!"


	26. Chapter 26

**Jhalya … thanks for letting me use your line****. *hug***

**XXVI.**

She had lost another hair tie and the blood had glued her curls together to a sticky mass. Hope and her hair ties … but that was another story. Riddick shook his head in disbelieve … how could he possibly think of something like lost hair ties in such a situation?

_Coz you try to stay sane, that's why. Concentrate now__!_

His hand touched her neck nearly reluctantly in search of her pulse. YES! It was still there, erratic, nearly not palpable but definitely there.

"Taylor, Hope is severely injured; she needs a doc NOW or she won't make it."

To his surprise he heard Serenity answering.

"Riddick, I'm working at the ER at our hospital, I'm the chief physician there; I'll take care that everything will be ready for her at your arrival."

"She won't make it that far … the Defiant is much nearer and has a more than up to date sickbay; we've got everything you'll need, can you treat her there?"

"Do you know how to move her? Make sure you don't hurt her any further. Which docking bay?"

"X 81/C. Better hurry."

"Riddick, take care of her spine and ..."

"SERENITY!"

"Sorry, I'm already on my way."

Of course Riddick knew how to transport Hope … at last his Ranger training paid off. For the first time in his life he was thankful that he'd been a ranger; they had been drilled for situations like that; rescuing injured comrades was one of the things they had been taught.

He had Hope on the med bed and already removed most of her tattered clothes before Serenity arrived with a big bag of meds and instruments. They removed the rest of her clothes together and not till then they saw the whole extent of her injuries. Riddick took in a sharp breath and Serenity closed her eyes for a second … it was more than a miracle that Hope still breathed.

Serenity instantly started to run scans, programmed the med bed to stabilize her, administered meds and prepared everything for surgery; it was a fight against time and all odds but she was the best at her job and with her Hope had at least a slim chance to survive.

Riddick refused to leave Hope; he stood by her side, whispering calming and encouraging words, telling her everything would be all right again. He watched Serenity's movements with worry, ready to step in if necessary … as if his trembling hands would be any help. His behavior didn't make Serenity's task any easier.

She stepped around him until she was fed up enough to muster the courage to speak up to him. "Riddick, you are constraining me, please let me do my work, I'll call you as soon as I'm finished."

"I am staying."

"Riddick, please …" Serenity sighed deeply "I know you don't want to leave her but she's sedated, she doesn't know you are here and you are emotionally too attached to be of any help. Your equipment here is state of the art, I've never seen anything that good outside a hospital; I don't need any help." She didn't tell him that a nurse would come in handy but she wanted him to leave so badly she would have said anything to get him out of the ship. He still scared her and she was afraid of his reaction if Hope wouldn't make it. And he WAS constantly in her way.

Riddick gave her the _'that's not the end of the discussion but as long as it's good for Hope I'll do it'_ look and bent down to Hope again. He'd do anything that'd help her and maybe he actually should make a duty call on the mercs right now, cool off some of the anger that had piled up in him during the last weeks.

"Babe, I let Serenity do her work; I'll go and look for those mercs now but I'm back soon and you'd better not stop fighting babe." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and was gone.

Serenity was relieved when Riddick finally left the ship and the hatch closed behind him.

"Now, Hope, let's make you better. You've rescued my baby and now I'll save your life; do you hear me? I won't tolerate any dissent on that, understood? Just hang in there for a little while longer, yes? When I'm finished with you you'll be as good as new. Now, your Riddick is quite a scary big guy, isn't he? But … and don't tell Taylor I said that … mighty fine to look at, no?" And she didn't stop talking to Hope the whole time; she was used to the talk in the operation room and the silence on board of the Defiant worked on her nerves.

In the meantime Riddick had reached the hotel in which the mercs were hiding. The entrance hall was empty, the reception area deserted except for a big plant … everybody was curious what was going on in the cargo area and had headed there. The mercs who knew perfectly well what had happened would stay in their rooms, trying not to draw any attention. Riddick went to the reception desk and had a look at the computer there … the mercs had booked the whole penthouse suite … dumb fucks, already spending money they'd never earn. He used the stairs up to the roof; elevators were death traps. He had a look around … the penthouse suite had a large terrace, half opened glass doors leading inside. He climbed down and hid behind some flowerpots. Voices were trailing out … snippets of their conversation wafted outside …

"That dumb slut has killed herself …"

" … stupid bitch; didn't deserve any better."

"Would have been good money."

"Yeah, but there's still Riddick."

"George said that ship's very fast; should keep it."

"Stop fucking smoking inside! Don't want that sprinkler drown us."

The glass door slid completely to the side and one of the mercs stepped outside. "There already a plan how to get Riddick when he arrives?" he shouted over his shoulder and stepped to the balustrade, sucking the smoke from his cigarette deep into his lungs and looking fascinated at the burning cargo area.

"Don't think so." a hoarse voice whispered in his ear. "But there's a plan how to get rid of a bunch of fucking mercs." In the first moment the merc was too stunned and too dead a moment later to cry out and alarm his pals.

Riddick's shiv had opened the merc's jugular and he stepped back to not get soaked with all the blood splattering out as he watched him bleed to death. All too soon it was over; a low growl escaped his throat … that had been way too easy, not satisfying in the least.

Without making any noise he stepped nearer to the glass doors. Soft light filtered outside through the curtains, lightened about a meter of the terrace. Riddick stood on the verge between light and dark, watching the men inside. They sat on chairs, boots on the table between them, bottles in their hands, empty ones scattered all over the room, dirty dishes and litter on the floor. He knew one of them … Mitchel. Had once brought him to slam. Sick bastard. He would spare him for last. Mid-sentence Mitchel scratched his balls and belched and the other mercs nodded as if he'd said something important. What a disgusting bunch of losers.

The room was lit by a single lamp on a small table near the glass doors … how convenient. Riddick picked up a piece of decoration from the terrace and silently slid inside the room; a precise shot took the lamp out, wrapping the room in darkness, making the mercs jump up and cry out and leaving them in utter confusion. Guns drawn they tried to find out who and where their attacker was.

"You are not afraid of the dark, are you?" Riddick asked with a hint of amusement and lots of anticipation in his voice; he just fucking loved that sentence.

"Shit, it's Riddick!" Shots got fired into the direction where Riddick stood only a second before. "Lights, we need lights!"

Riddick's question had caused a bedlam; the mercs were scared shitless, tried to find out where he was and tried to find the switch of the ceiling light.

Riddick was enjoying himself immensely; maybe he should turn on the light himself, would be even more fun that way.

He grabbed the head of the merc standing close to him without sensing the danger in a firm grip and with a satisfying crunch the spine snapped when Riddick twisted the merc's head in a quick motion to the side. Riddick was in full fight mode by now; the beast so long contained had taken command; it wanted revenge, wanted the blood of those bastards spilled.

He closed his fist around the throat of the next merc and dragged him to the side of the room, his feet dangling nearly a foot above the floor. He ripped up the merc's shirt … he needed to see the blood spill out. The shiv penetrated the skin, went into the flesh as far as it would go as if it belonged there … the sweet spot, fourth lumbar down. When he removed his shiv the blood immediately began to cascade from the wound, with each beat of it the heart pumped blood out of the merc. Mmh, maybe he should have a taste of it; what a shame that he had no peppermint schnapps with him like back then when he had stabbed Johns. He felt the blood run warm over his hands and the beast in him roared.

The stink of fear filled the room now, the sweet, copperish aroma of blood, the sharp stench of cold sweat.

He stepped over the corpse and went up to Mitchel who had nearly found his way to the light switch; a straight right took him out … his time hadn't come yet.

The only remaining merc crouched behind the couch; that chickenshit tried to hide from him ... how amusing. He walked up to him until he nearly touched him.

"Boo!"

The merc shrieked like a little girl, turned around and jumped through the closed window.

Who said he had no sense of humor? Although he highly doubted that the merc got the joke … he didn't look very amused as he laid down there, smashed on the concrete, limbs spread in impossible angles and very dead. Well, humor might be one of the things that are in the eye of the beholder.

Riddick couldn't help but grin at the sight. "Ouch."


	27. Chapter 27

**XXVII.**

Without any hurry he picked up the lamp from the floor, put it back on the table and soon soft light filled the room again. It didn't take long until Mitchel started to regain consciousness; the blow hadn't been that hard.

Riddick sat down on the table and watched the merc come to, the muzzle of the merc's gun pointing at its owner. Riddick had decided to play for a while with Mitchel, the others had died way too fast and easy. He saw the panic bubble up in Mitchel's eyes as soon as his vision got clear enough to see Riddick sitting there, watching him. He tried to crawl back but the wall stopped his movements; he gasped and cold sweat glistened on his forehead when Riddick started to speak in a voice death itself would have used.

"I'm not very pleased about what you did to my woman, Mitchel. Did you really think I let that slide?"

"Riddick, you know it's nothing personal. It's our job."

"Your job ... I see. Well and it's **my** job to make sure you'll understand what a mistake it is to mess with any of us."

"Any of you? There are more like you?" panic giving the merc's voice a high pitch.

"Yeah, in fact lots of. A whole planet full of us. What a shame you won't be able to tell."

Sweat was trickling down the merc's face, burning in his eyes. He wanted so badly to wipe it away but was afraid that Riddick could shoot if he moved.

"Riddick, please, I'll spread the word that you are dead, tell the others to stop looking for you, but please …" his eyes searched the room, saw the corpse lying at the couch, the one on the floor … he did the math … there were two missing. He glanced at the door to the terrace, hope glimmering up in him.

A small cruel smile played on Riddick's lips. "Smoking kills you, could have told him that. And if you wonder … your other friend took the shortcut out through the window."

Mitchel swallowed hard. "Riddick, what do I have to do to get out of this mess?" He thought because Riddick hadn't killed him yet he had a chance to survive, that Riddick wanted something from him.

Riddick' lips were curled up to a sneer. "Do I really have to spell it out for you? Death, merc, that's what gets you out of here. I just haven't decided yet how to ghost you. So many ways to end a life and just one merc left to perform; isn't that a shame? I'm afraid it will be a rather long night for you, merc."

Faster than Riddick would have thought a body that fat could be able to move the merc came to his feet and tried to run for the door; but not half as fast as he should have been to escape his nemesis. Riddick moved like a panther, elegant, smooth, silent and with deadly precision … a well placed kick let the merc's thighbone crack. With a scream he fell back to the ground and tried to crawl away.

Riddick was hovering over him, his face showing a demonical expression. "**I** say when we are finished."

"Please, Riddick, please." The merc finally had realized that his death would come as a relief. Tears and snot were streaming down his face, his sobs shook his whole body violently. And then his erratically wondering hands found the shiv he had hidden in a side pocket of his trousers.

Riddick hadn't bothered searching the merc for hidden weapons; it would make it all the more fun when the merc at least tried to fight back.

"Oh, please, Mitchel," Riddick grinned. "Now I'm really frightened."

The merc had gotten himself up on one shaky leg, his knife aimed at Riddick. "You want me, you have to get me, Riddick." He spit out in a trace of bravery. "You are a crazy fuck and you know it." the merc panted.

"And you have figured that out all by yourself? Very clever, merc. Very clever." Riddick taunted him. Yes, that would be much more fun than he would have thought. Too fast for the merc to react Riddick had passed him, his knife cutting a big gash across Mitchel's biceps; blood was immediately running down his arm, the sudden hurt made him stumble and fall back to the floor. Riddick still didn't take the merc's knife away; as long as he had hope he would fight. The merc's cry had the beast growling in satisfaction but it wanted more, much more.

"Get up, merc."

"Why should I? You'll kill me nonetheless."

"Never met a merc that smart before, Mitchel. And now get up."

"Riddick, please!" The merc tried to beg his way out of this situation; it looked … and smelled … like he had actually wetted his pants.

"Fuck, Mitchel, you are a disgrace for even your profession!"

The next hours passed as a cat and mouse game ... Riddick hunting and hurting Mitchel but not too bad to disable him to fight back, Mitchel fleeing and trying to get out of the room and coming nowhere near the door. Mitchel's clothes were soaked in blood and Riddick had to admit that there was more in the fat merc than he would have given him.

The merc was leaning heavily panting on a wall as far away from him as he could get in this room and Riddick had decided to let him recover for a moment; he still didn't want to end the game but the merc was getting too slow and clumsy to be any fun anymore.

He was thinking of the things he still could do to the merc when Serenity's voice sounded through the earpiece and interrupted that pleasurable line of thought.

"Riddick, do you hear me? Riddick?"

"Talk!"


	28. Chapter 28

**XXVIII.**

And finally she was finished. She was completely worn out but more than satisfied with her work. She had done everything within human power and some more to patch up Hope; in fact she had done an extraordinary good job, nobody else would have been able to accomplish such a delicate operation. Time to talk to Riddick.

"Riddick, do you hear me? Riddick?"

"Talk!"

I'm finished. Can you come back?"

"How is she?"

He could hear a deep-drawn sigh and for a second the same fear as before tried to rip up his heart, it was hard to focus on her next words.

"Her condition is serious but she's holding on; she needs you at her side now." She had still major doubts that Hope would make it, but she didn't tell him that.

"I'll finish here and be back in 20." He turned to the merc and moved up to him.

"Riddick, please, have mercy."

Riddick just laughed. "Mercy? Don't know what that is, merc." His hand caught the merc's shooting arm and twisted it until the shoulder dislocated. The hurt let vomit pool in Mitchel's mouth, black dots were dancing in front of his eyes; he hadn't even left the strength to cry out, all he still managed to get out was a small whimper.

"Liked that? Eye for an Eye, merc; and you still are much better off than Hope, but I have to leave now."

The merc tried to say something but no words came out, Riddick's fist was closed too firmly around his gorge. He stared straight in Riddick's eyes, silvery pools of pure Furyan rage. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the sudden movement of Riddick's arm; he was relieved when the pressure on his gorge ceased and surprised when Riddick stepped back. For a precious moment he actually thought he'd come out of this alive.

Riddick's knife was that sharp he didn't feel the pain in the first moment, agony set in when he looked down, seeing his guts spill out of his opened abdomen. In a fairly futile attempt he tried to stop them from pouring out, tried to put them back in again but they continued to slip through his weakening fingers. His whole body convulsed, the pain made him gasp, squished the words he tried to get out and his knees started to give in. The last thing he saw was Riddick bending down to him, whispering; he had difficulties to understand the words, spoken in a voice that cold they seemed to come straight out of the depths of a glacier.

"And now imagine the pain you'd have to endure if she'd have told me that Hope didn't survive surgery."

Riddick watched the merc and admired his handy work; the merc actually looked like one of those dummies they had used during ranger training. He saw the merc's final struggle with deep satisfaction, the beast in him already calmed down. He wiped his shiv clean on the merc's shoulder, completely unperturbed by the horrified expression on the dying merc's face.

His clothes were mostly clean but his hands were covered in dried in blood, he had to clean up before he went to Hope and he had to get rid of that dead merc smell, he didn't want to bring that stink back to her.

The suite was equipped with a sonic shower and he stepped in fully dressed, let the sonic pulse vibrations remove the blood and the smell of his killings. Though it didn't remove the deep satisfaction Riddick felt slicing up Mitchel had given him.

He found Serenity sitting at Hope's side. Serenity looked extremely exhausted and Hope a tad bit better than a few hours earlier; Serenity had even gotten all the blood out of Hope's hair and it laid in a thick shimmering braid on the pillow.

"She looks fine, when will she wake up?"

Serenity stood up and handed Riddick the flexi she had toyed with for the last half hour. "Riddick, it would be easier to tell you what hadn't needed surgery." She took a moment to compose herself and then continued.

"Her inner organs should function again, her blood loss is balanced, she doesn't have any brain damage, her shoulder is fixed and her broken bones are mended and I have taken care of each cut and each bruise, but it's been a massive trauma for her body. At this point I can't do anything more; nobody could. It's up to her now. But don't let your hopes get up too high … you should keep in mind that she was in no good condition when she arrived here; she was totally exhausted and on the verge to malnourished. I simply don't know how much strength she has left to fight."

That was so not what Riddick wanted to hear. "She's a fighter, she'll make it." She had to; he wouldn't let her go now that he finally had caught up with her, now that he had decided to talk to her, to tell her how he felt. No, she wouldn't leave him. Not now. Not ever; it simply wasn't an option.

"Riddick, are you sure you don't want to take her to a hospital? We take her there under her fake ID and nobody will recognize her, I'll make sure of that."

Riddick shook his head no. "They can't do anything for her you haven't already done, now can they? Maybe being at home will help."

"Already thought so. Well then, I've talked with Taylor and Jeff and if it is all right for you I come with you to take care of her on the flight. They'll follow us with Julie and Dylan in Jeff's ship as soon as they've packed up everything. What about the mercs?" The expression on Riddick's face let her shiver; all of a sudden she didn't want to know anymore. "Never mind."

Riddick cocked an eyebrow seeing her reaction. "They have been taken care of. You still sure about coming with us? If you are so easily offended I strongly suggest you better go with your husband; we'll be fine here." He shoved her out of the hatch. "I'll transfer coordinates, come as soon as you are ready." He didn't give a fuck whether they followed them or not, all that mattered was getting Hope home to Furya.

Serenity hadn't the chance for a reply, the hatch already had closed behind her. With her mouth agape she stared at it for a whole minute before heading home. "Thank you for your help, Serenity, thank you for saving Hope, Serenity" she muttered under her breath. But being honest with herself she had to admit that she was relieved; Riddick scared her shitless and she didn't like being separated from her family for too long. And with her help they would be able to leave much faster.

After setting course and autopilot Riddick sat down beside Hope, he was glad that he finally was alone with her. He sat at her side during the whole flight, only leaving her to check on the engines or to grab some food he ate in sickbay. He never stopped talking to her … he told her about things he assumed she'd want to know, things he never told anybody else before. About his youth, about Kate, how he felt after her death, how much it had helped blowing up that merc's ship (**). He told her how he became that wanted convict and a murderer and he told her how sorry he was for leaving her, that he intended to never leave her again, no matter what.

They reached Furya in record time; Hope would have his head if he damaged the core … she wouldn't see the need of his hurry, but he'd gladly deal with that if only she'd wake up in the end. He had transferred the data from Serenity's flexi to the Defiant's computer and the Defiant would now continuously check on her. Her vital signs remained at the same low level all way back; nothing had changed when the picture of the beautiful, blue-green orb of Furya and its two moons appeared on the view screen.

(**) chapter XXXI of 'Defiant'


	29. Chapter 29

**XXIX.**

A silent alarm chirped through sickbay.

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication required immediately." _the ship's computer voice announced.

"Hope, please, don't give up. You have to fight. We don't have any further medication we can give you." For the first time in his life he actually pleaded.

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication required immediately."_

"Goddamn, woman, fight!"

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication required immediately."_

**************

Hope found herself in the middle of a green landscape, flat und quiet, endless nothing till the horizon; it didn't look as if anything or anybody lived there. She was confused … how did she get there? The last thing she could remember was the clock on that bomb counting down. No, wait, there was more … she remembered running. And pain. Excruciating pain.

"Hope!"

She turned around to see a woman standing behind her. She looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't put a name to her. She knew she had seen her before but she couldn't remember when and where.

"Who are you?" Hope asked and the woman smiled.

"I'm Shirah, and yes, you know me."

And despite that mysterious answer Hope knew she was saying the truth.

"Where am I? And what the hell am I doing here?"

"You are on the threshold between alive and dead. You have to decide now. Do you want to live or do you think you already have arranged your affairs?"

Hope stared at her. "You are kidding me, right?"

Shirah shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

"Then where's the light? I thought there'd be a light?"

"That's another religion … you don't need the light to find your way where it is predicted."

"What then?"

"You'll see when your time has come."

"Hasn't it already?"

"Has it?"

Hope started to get a bit impatient. "Now what are we discussing here?"

And then Hope remembered. "You are the woman I've seen in my dream. In cryosleep."

"Yes. And now I'm here to help you with your decision, to guide you."

"I'd have thought that would rather be a job for that pesky Elemental." Hope muttered

"I'm sorry, you are stuck with me."

"Can't I just rest for a while and decide later? I'm so tired."

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"So I really have to choose? Well, I just brought grieve and harm to everybody I came near." She paused for a second, thought of all her failures. "Aereon told me that it's my faith to reunite the Furyans … Furya's retrieval is on its way … they can easily proceed without me. My job is done, I'm ready to go." she stated.

"You sure? Aren't you dismissing your life a bit too easy? Isn't dying a coward's choice? What about Riddick?"

_Too easy?!_ She was ready to die but not to get reprimanded by a sassy woman knowing nothing about her and her constitution or the real reason for her decision; but she'd give her at least one.

"I'm no coward! Do you know how much it hurts to get blown up by a bomb? I don't think there is a single unbroken bone in my body. And Riddick … he wouldn't care. I don't even know where he is. He went and left me alone without as much as a goodbye. If he'd care for me he wouldn't have left. Or he would have contacted me once in a while. Or at least not refused to take my calls. Wouldn't have hurt him. For all I know he could be dead or in slam or with another woman, I don't know. And I don't care. And now get out of my head!"

Shirah was completely unimpressed. "Now **you** have got to be kidding **me**. Don't you think that there could have been a good reason why he **wasn't able** to hail you? Don't you know the truth by now?"

Hope got angry with that woman ... how dare she and call her a fool?

"Because you are a fool. Did you really completely forget about George?"

"George? Oh. Oh! That little bastard! Maybe I should die just to be able to kick his but. I wasn't able to do that before that lousy little stinker died."

Shirah wasn't amused. "That's not funny."

"Yeah, tell me, it's my death we are discussing here."

"Truth is that neither you, nor Riddick is able to live without each other. He has his little failings but never would have left you to live with another woman. Faith, Hope. You should have faith in him; that's a lesson the both of you will have to learn. Shall I show you what will happen if you die now?"

"They'll bury me. Or not ... I don't care. End of story."

"The little you know. Turn around."

The landscape had changed into Defiant's sickbay. She saw herself lying on the med bed, pale and bruised, tubes attached to her arms and a blinking med device on her forehead. _The Defiant?_ How did she get there? Riddick was sitting beside her, his face a mask of hurt. He was holding her hand, stroking it with his thumb and talking to her. _Riddick?_

She turned to Shirah.

"What are you trying to do? Do you think I choose life because you simulate a picture of a caring Riddick? You can't fool me with your tricks. And just so you know I didn't give up easily and I didn't commit suicide as you perfectly well know … I got hit by a frigging bomb. And now I'm just fucking tired."

"Nice language."

"What? I can curse as much as I want, nobody can hear me."

"I can."

"Yes, but you are not real, you are a dying woman's hallucination and you don't count."

Shirah sighed. "Maybe, maybe not. Are you really willing to take that risk? But that's not the point anyways … that's no simulation. He landed on the planet right on time to watch that storage room explode. It was him who found you and carried you to the Defiant. Serenity has treated your injuries but as long as you are not willing to fight for your life she can't succeed."

In the doorframe Hope could see Laney and Kerry; they were sobbing violently and hugging each other.

"And how do you explain Laney's and Kerry's presence?" Hope asked with an impatient sigh, already knowing that Shirah also had an answer to that.

"You've arrived at Furya yesterday. Riddick was hoping that being at home would help to heal you."

Hope could hear their voices now. The crying of Laney and Kerry. The computer voice telling them that her vital signs had reached a critical level. And Riddick, pleading her to fight for her life, shouting at her when she didn't comply immediately. How typically Riddick.

"I'll show you what exactly will happen if you choose to die now … Watch closely and tell me if you like the outcome."


	30. Chapter 30

**XXX****.**

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication required immediately."_

"Out! Get out of here. All of you." Riddick placed Hopes hand gently back on the bed and stood up. "Leave the ship. Now."

"Riddick, please, you can't …"

"I said OUT. OF. HERE." He shoved the women to the hatch and closed it behind them. He couldn't stand their company any longer ... how could they dare live when she was dying?

"Defiant, initiate start routine." He sat down in the cockpit to set a course and the ship quickly gained height. As soon as he had activated the autopilot he went back to sickbay.

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication required immediately."_

"Defiant, shut up." Riddick was beyond tired. He hadn't left Hope's side the whole way back to Furya and lack of sleep was taking its toll. He stretched out beside her and took her in his arms. He didn't know if she was feeling something but if so he wanted it to be him she was feeling in her last minutes.

"Babe, why don't you fight?" he whispered, his face buried in her hair, his lips brushing slightly across her ear. "I know you could if you wanted to. Don't give up on us." Somewhat like a sob escaped Riddick's throat. "Babe, you are not supposed to die. Don't do that to me."

He glanced at the monitor showing her vital signs, hoping for a turn for the better. But no such luck … they had gotten even worse in the last minutes. "I'm here, babe, stay with me, please."

But he knew it was too late … her scent already faded away, he could feel her life draining out of her body.

He knew exactly the second she died ... his heart and soul went with her, nothing left but a breathing shell. He cradled her in his arms not being afraid anymore to hurt her. "I'm so sorry babe." He tucked a loose strand of her hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear; he couldn't remember how often he had done that. He had loved the feeling of her hair.

He had loved so many things about her. Her boldness, her courage, her stubbornness, how she refused to get frightened by him, the way she met his beast. He had loved to train her, to reveal the warrior hidden inside her. Her smile and her confidence in him. The way she responded to him, how a simple word whispered in her ear could get her all worked up. He had loved their tender, peaceful moments when he had held her in his arms, relishing her embrace and feeling her heart beat against his chest. How she was able to calm him down and how she had made him open up to her. How she had touched his soul … how she had made him feel almost human.

And now the only person that ever mattered to him, the only person he ever had loved, the only person who ever had loved him wholeheartedly was dead. Because of him. He had promised to take care of her, to never let anything happen to her; it was his fault she was dead. He had failed her … could as well have killed her himself.

Never again he would see that sparkle in her eyes, never again she would smile for him. His thumb caressed her full bottom lip. Death hadn't taken any of her beauty away, she was still the most beautiful woman he had seen in his whole life.

He didn't even try to shut out the voices he suddenly heard in his head…

'_Riddick, I haven't betrayed you, I promise. I didn't tell them anything.'_ … Kate … they had come for him and when they didn't find him had instead killed her.

'_Keep turning, keep tu__rning … that's right … others're already 'board waitin' for us right now … five steps, c'mon, almost there, Riddick … almost there … we're almost …"_ … Carolyn … she came back for him, got killed by a hammerhead for her helping him.

'_Riddick…'_ … Hope … his Hope.

NOT. FOR. ME! NOT. BECAUSE. OF. ME! NEVER. AGAIN!

A bittersweet smile graced his face; he had to swallow the lump in his throat to be able to speak.

"I'm right behind you, babe. I'll find you where ever you go and then I'll never leave you again."

He kissed her a last time and his whispered "I love you" still lingered on when the ship exploded in a blinding bright ball of fire in Furya's sun.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N**

A final thank you to my wonderful beta Honey76. I don't know what I would have done without her help.

And of course thanks again to everybody taking the time and writing a review.

**XXXI****.**

… **f****ar away from Hope and Riddick …**

The bell of the door rang melodiously when the old woman opened it but the pleasant sound wasn't able to lighten her heart. She went straight to the back, knowing her way. The old man getting aware of her stood up to greet her, a sad smile graced his face when he hugged her tight. "It's time to go, isn't it? "

The woman returned hug and smile and nodded. "Yes. They are arriving."

"Did you inform the others yet?" the old man wanted to know.

"No, I wanted you with me on that journey."

A sigh escaped the old man's throat. "I so had hoped that it wouldn't happen … that you were wrong this time. Are they ready yet?"

Sadness marked the woman's face when she finally answered him. "I don't know. She won't survive without him."

He didn't get angry very often but now he was "You could have averted it! I like her!"

"So do I, but they have to make their own decisions, I can't force them."

**********

Sara was on her way back home after work. She had started to regret her decision to stay a long time ago; she wasn't able to make any difference for anybody and with each day it got harder to do that job. She still had the com data of that friend of Hope and as soon as she had reached her apartment she would make use of it. She didn't know the elderly couple standing in front of her house and ignored them until they approached her.

"Excuse me; you are Sara, aren't you? May we talk to you? Please tell us … do you believe in destiny?"

*********

Murrey sat back in his chair, musing over that small woman that had stolen his heart with her incredible smile and he still wasn't able to forget. He knew she had lied to him about her name and her situation but he also knew that the reason therefore had to be good; she had the most awesome aura he had ever seen and her aura hadn't lied to him. Auras never lied.

When his assistant announced two visitors he cherished the hope one of them could be her; not a lot of people visited him in his office instead of calling him over the com and arranging a meeting somewhere else and she was one of the few that knew where it was. But he didn't have that much luck on his side; an elderly couple entered his office and with a silent sigh he stood up to meet them.

"Time has come, son."

**Still chapter XXXI****.**

… **Furya …**

Hope had watched the scene without a word, tears she didn't realize were streaming down her face. She hadn't only witnessed the scene in front of her, she had felt Riddick's pain, the sorrow and grieve. But what hurt her most were the echoes of his thoughts, his blaming himself and his giving up; seeing him that devastated had broken her heart.

"Shirah, you have to stop him, please. He must not die! Please!"

"Hope, you know what you have got to do. I know you are tired and exhausted and I know that it will be hard and painful but I also know that you can make it. You are Furyan, you are a born fighter. Live!"

"I can't believe he did that. He once told me he'd treasure his life, that he'd do anything to survive. He survived slam, the hammerheads, everything … and he'd die willingly because of me … I don't get it."

Shirah shook her head … '_blind in every respect'_. "You always underestimated his love for you and he blames himself for your death. You have shown him how life could be. He was happy with you. Even when he was away from you the knowledge that you existed made him happy. Your love freed his soul, you have been his light and you took that away from him when you died; he didn't want to go back to the darkness he had been all his life. Without you he had no reason left to go on."

"I wouldn't be of any help for him. I think you've missed the good part … Taylor told me that the chemical would destroy my retina if I'd get it into my eyes. Guess what … I know medicine is good nowadays but not that good. They won't be able to repair the damage, he would be burdened with a blind woman, a cripple. Not long and he would start to hate me and that would hurt more than all the injuries from the explosion. He needs somebody he can bank on, somebody strong and healthy. There must be another way to keep him alive."

"So now we are getting to the core of the matter, the real reason why you are so willingly to pack in."

Hope wiped the tears away; she had the feeling that there was more to come. "How did you know?" she whispered.

Shirah had a light smile on her face; she nearly had Hope where she wanted her. "Of course I knew, I'm in your head, remember? Did you ever think about getting eyes like Riddick's?"

Hope stared at her for a moment until realization hit her. "He's got them from you, hasn't he?! Ha, I knew the story he has given the others was just crap."

"There went too much wrong for him; it was the only thing I was able to do to help him. You won't be able to see colors anymore, nearly everything will be in shades of pink and purple but apart from that you will be able to see even better than before. It's your decision … think wisely!"

**********************

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication required immediately."_

Out! Get out of here. All of you." Riddick placed Hopes hand gently back on the bed and stood up. "Leave the ship. Now."

"Riddick, please, you can't …"

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication required immediately."_

"I said OUT. OF. HERE." He shoved the women to the hatch and closed it behind them. He couldn't stand their company any longer … how could they dare live when she was dying?

"Defiant, initiate start routine." He sat down in the cockpit to set a course. Even in there he could hear the computer voice and each time he heard that sentence it was like he'd get hit with a sledgehammer.

"_Vital signs are on a critical level, further medication ….. vital signs stabilizing."_

Riddick looked up. Had he just imagined what he had heard? Was it just wishful thinking? Setting a course was completely forgotten, in a heartbeat he had reached sickbay.

"Defiant, status of Hope's vital signs."

"_Vital sings __below normal but not critical."_

The computer voice started to give him a full update on Hope's vital signs but he already had heard what he wanted to hear.

"Defiant, shut up." he said with a smile that would have lit up an entire city.

Relief and happiness washed through him, let the adrenalin fade that had kept him running in the last days. She finally had started to fight … he would not lose her, she would live!

Riddick was beyond tired. He hadn't left Hope's side the whole way back to Furya and lack of sleep was taking its toll. He stretched out beside Hope and carefully took her in his arms. He buried his face in the crook of her neck; her scent soothed him, let him relax.

His whispered 'I love you' still lingered on in the ship when Riddick finally gave in and dropped off to sleep.

*************************

Without getting set a course after a while the Defiant canceled the start routines and shut itself down, patiently waiting for a new command.

In another ship, accompanied by an old man, Sara and Murrey an Elemental was on her way to Furya. Again everything had turned out like she had calculated; now they were able to fight them, to start restoring the balance of the universe.


End file.
